Ripples
by Tima Yami's wife
Summary: -remake of "Tima and Atem"- AtemOC One decision creates more and can change someone or something. When Atem decided to follow his heart instead of what was expected of him, his decision affected all those around him, good and bad, past, present and future.
1. Meeting

Chapter 1

Meeting

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. After a lot of soul searching (and rping), I decided to completely rewrite my main story. I will be rewriting Confessions as well (that will focus on the present times for that particular couple) but one story at a time. To all those who read the original or are reading this story for the first time, I hope you enjoy it.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

_When young Pharaoh Atem took the throne after his father's passing, he wanted to make his father proud and was determined to be a just Pharaoh who treated everyone with respect and who looked past a person's status to see the real person. The priest Mahad knew that the Pharaoh would be able to do that, evident by the prince saving him from a snake bite when they were young. But one such decision would affect everyone's lives (both positively and negatively), especially the Pharaoh's future._

That day, Atem and High Priest Seth were waiting at the docks of the palace. The rest of the Royal Court was not there because Atem requested that only Seth would be with him for the meeting as he considered Seth a trusted comrade and friend. They had been waiting for a full section of a sundial and Seth was growing restless. "They're late."

Atem looked away, not happy with what was coming. "They don't need to come."

Seth sighed and looked at Atem. They were awaiting a boat that was bringing a girl from Greece that was to be wed to Atem to form a unity between the two nations. Seth reminded Atem, "My Pharaoh, you know this is important for both the Kingdom of Khment and the Kingdom of Greece…"

Before he could continue, Atem stopped him. "I know of its importance, Seth…I just do not approve of the idea."

Seth stayed silent after that. He had tried to get Atem to agree to this since the arrangement was made. Just then, the two heard two cries. Looking up, they saw two birds of legends swooping down to them. They were phoenixes and Atem and Seth were their guardians, appointed when they found the eggs in the gardens when they were young. Atem's phoenix was the yellow Tarra of lightening; Seth's was the black Itami of darkness. When Tarra was on his shoulder, Atem reached up and gave her feathery chest a scratch. "Have you seen them, Tarra?

Tarra leaned into the scratches and looked at Atemu. She then spoke directly to his mind. _No. They might still be out at sea._

Atem immediately suggested, "So we can leave."

Tarra gave him a look. _We need to stay. It's what your Father wanted._

Atemu said nothing to that, for he knew the truth. The ruler of Greece suggested the marriage between Atemu and the daughter of a politician as a way to uniting the countries since the ruler did not have children of his own. Aknamkanon did not agree to it at first for he did not want his son's heart to be used like that but his royal court, especially Aknadin and the then-new priest Seth convinced him of it. Seth shook his head. 'I don't know why he's fighting this. I'd be honored to unite the countries like this.'

He then heard a voice in his head. _You are such a liar._

Seth glared at Itami, the owner of the voice. Itami's eyes shined at him, as if she was smirking. Seth mentally hissed at her, _Breathe another word, I'll-_

Itami stopped him by saying, _You know you can't hurt me._

Seth and Itami glared at each other. Even thought they were guardian and phoenix, they did not get along a lot of the time. Atemu noticed the tension between them and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Take one more look, you two. If they're not near, we're retiring for the night."

The two phoenixes took back into the sky. Itami took great care to have her wing feathers brush across Seth's face. The priest growled in Itami's direction. "I swear, one day, that bird is going to get it."

Knowing that Seth was talking about strangling Itami, Atem murmured, "I'd rather get it than Itami."

Seth sighed, not liking that Atem was being so close-minded to the arrangement. He pointed out, "You might like the girl. After all, the wedding is 6 moons away; a lot can happen."

Atem stayed quiet to that. He knew that Seth had a point there but he did not want to accept this. He felt like he was trapped in a corner with this arrangement: he did not want this but knew that denying the arrangement would risk having Khment go to war with Greece. Just then, Tarra and Itami returned. Atem hoped and was not rewarded: Tarra told them _Boat on the horizon._

Atemu glared at her, as if saying 'Don't joke with me.' Tarra gestured to the horizon and the two men looked. The phoenix had spoken the truth: a Grecian boat being rowed by Greek slaves was coming over the horizon. Atem massaged his forehead a little, feeling a headache coming on. Not seeing his actions, Seth told him, "You have to accept this. Clearly, this is destiny."

That earned the priest a glare from the Pharaoh. Atem then looked at Tarra. "How many on the boat, Tarra?"

Tarra started to remember. _Slaves, the girl Roxanna, and her personal servant, an older man._

Atem nodded. But he was still making it clear that he did not want to do this. Seth saw this and reminded him again, "Pharaoh, remember: Roxanna's father is of the high council in Greece. If anything were to go wrong…"

Atem held up his hand, signaling that he did not need/want to be reminded. As the boat pulled up, Seth kept stealing glances at Atem, hoping that he would not lash out at the Greek visitors. The boat was soon next to the dock and two slaves out to tie the boat to the dock. As they were working, a Grecian man with graying hair and sharp eyes wearing a red toga, white tunic, and brown sandals jumped onto the dock. The man, named Lapidos, recognized Atem and immediately paid him respect, bowing on one knee with an arm crossing his chest. "My Pharaoh, my Lady Roxanna is greatly honored to be here."

Atem did not want to hear that but he knew better than to let out his true feelings. So he lied and said, "The honor is ours to have Lady Roxanna here…"

Lapidos stayed in the bowing position until Atem told him to stand. Once the man was, Lapidos offered his hand to someone on the boat. "May I present…Lady Roxanna?"

A small hand took his and a girl of seventeen was helped out of the boat. She was about Atem's height with long black hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a white dress that showed off her curvaceous figure. Once Roxanna had her footing, Lapidos turned to her. "My Lady…Pharaoh Atem."

Roxanna looked at Atem and smiled with a small blush. Remembering her manners, she bowed before Atem. "Pharaoh."

Atem nodded at her. However, something did not sit right him and it was not just because of the situation. There was something that did not feel right about Roxanna. Tarra noticed it as she perched on Atem's shoulder. _Is it me or does she have a mask on?_

Atem mentally looked at her. _You sensed it as well?_

Tarra looked at him. _Just call it a feeling I have._

Atemu looked back at Roxanna, who immediately took interest in Tarra. "What a beautiful bird! It's so nice to see a man who's so attached to his pet."

Roxanna did not mean "pet" in an insulting way since this was the first time she had ever seen a phoenix. However, it still ruffled Tarra's feathers. _Pet?! How dare she! I'm your chosen phoenix!_

Seth mentally sighed; if Tarra would react like this to what he and Atem could see was an honest mistake, the six months would not be pleasant. Atem turned to Tarra to tell her to calm herself when Roxanna reached her hand out. "She's so beautiful…may I pet her?"

Before Atem could tell Tarra to behave, the phoenix gave Roxanna a small static shock. Roxanna immediately recoiled, surprised that happened from trying to touch what she thought was a bird. "What kind of bird is she?"

Atem could not help but smirk at both Roxanna recoiling and at her not knowing what Tarra was. "Tarra is my lightening phoenix."

Roxanna blinked blankly. Lapidos, however, perked up, for he knew all about legends. "You mean these creatures truly exist?"

Both Atem and Seth nodded, glad that at least one person from Greece knew that they were talking about. Roxanna looked between the men and slightly glared that the attention was not on her. Suddenly remembering, she said to Atem, "I almost forgot: I have a gift for you."

Atem slowly looked at her and raised his eyebrow. He had gotten gifts from visitors before but, for some reason, this gift did not sound pleasant. "Did you?"

Roxanna smiled and clapped her hands twice. As two male slaves went below the decks for the boat, she said, "I do hope you'll enjoy it."

Soon the two men came out and joined them on the docks. Between them was a girl of sixteen, dressed in rags. She had brown wavy hair and bright blue eyes that appeared to be worn out from her slave life. The one thing that stuck out about her was her skin color: she was tanner than Roxanna but lighter than Atem. Atem was confused and immediately asked, "What's the meaning of this?"

Roxanna smiled with pride. "Pharaoh Atem…meet your personal slave."

The girl looked up at Atem and recoiled, her eyes showing sadness and fear. Atem's eyes immediately widened. Seth remained stone-faced but he did not like where this was going. Seeing the look on their faces, Roxanna got worried. "My Pharaoh…is there something wrong? Do you like your gift?"

Atem wanted to tell her no but found himself stuck on words. Tarra, however, was mentally screeching in his mind. _This is cruel and unusual! We don't even treat our own slaves like this!_

Tarra's feathers ruffled, catching the attention to Roxanna. Atemu told Tarra to calm down and then answered Roxanna: "I didn't expect this."

Hearing this, Roxanna immediately started to tear up. "You don't like it? Oh Pharaoh! Please forgive me!" She lowered her head, both to seem like she was sorry and to keep from revealing the tears she had were fake. Lapidos did not react, used to Roxanna acting like this. Atem, however, felt stuck again. He still had his weird feeling about Roxanna and he did not like that her gift was a slave; however, he did not want her to be upset and, while he did not want a personal slave, he wanted a war even less. Swallowing his disgust, he went to Roxanna and touched her shoulder. "Lady Roxanna, it is all right. Please do not cry."

Making the tears again, Roxanna looked up at him. "Forgive me, I don't know the customs of this land."

Atem nodded. "I can teach you. First off, I don't like having a slave…"

Before he could continue, Roxanna quickly interrupted, "Then think of her as a servant."

Atem blinked at the sudden response. Mentally, he was cursing; he was hoping to get out of this situation but Roxanna kept him trapped. Tarra wanted to screech at her but Atem calmed her down. Sighing, he said, "Very well, Roxanna. I suppose a servant is better than being called a slave."

Roxanna immediately brightened. "Oh my Pharaoh! You are so kind-hearted!"

Atemu tried to hide the look of disgust on his face but it was slowly showing. Seeing this, Lapidos stepped in. "May I take Roxanna to her room?"

Atem nodded, happy that this man stepped in to help. He turned and led the group into the palace. He could not believe that he was resigned to this fate and wanted to curse the gods for cursing him with this Grecian woman. At the same time, Seth asked Itami, _What do you think of this?_

_There is something about Roxanna that doesn't fit well with me._

Seth looked at her. _How do you mean?_

Itami looked at Roxanna, who was looking around the hall. _I cannot put my wing on it. It does seem that she is wearing a mask. Forgive me for being blunt but we must watch this girl closely._

Seth smirked, glad that he and his phoenix were on the same page. He planned on keeping an eye on Roxanna anyway because she was a foreigner. Unlike the rest of the Royal Court, he was suspicious of anyone who did not come from Khment. The fact that she was from a powerful nation and that Itami was suspicious added fuel to his qualms. At that moment, they came to a spare room and Atem turned to the Greeks. "This is your room, Roxanna. Will Lapidos be rooming with you?"

He asked since he was not accustomed to Greek ways. Sensing this, Lapidos said, "While I am Lady Roxanna's personal servant, my Pharaoh. I can understand if there is a room close to Lady Roxanna."

Atem nodded. "That can be arranged, Lapidos."

Lapidos nodded his head in thanks and respect. Feeling left out, Roxanna chirped up, "So when can we start to get to know each other?"

Atem did not want to get to know her. But, knowing that he could not tell her that, he said, "Can you wait until dinner? I have some things to do first."

Roxanna nodded. "Of course…and Tima will be there to help you."

Atem's face scrunched with confusion until he put two and two together: Tima was the name of his new slave. He looked at her, who was looking at the ground nervously. "Is that her name?"

Roxanna nodded again. "Yes. Now Tima…" Tima looked up at Roxanna, remaining silent, "…you are the Pharaoh's servant. Wherever he goes, you must follow. Do you understand?"

Tima nodded in obedience. Atem did not like the exchange between the two and did not like what he was seeing. Roxanna then smiled at Atem. "I shall see you at dinner." With that, Roxanna and Lapidos retired into Roxanna's room. Once they were alone, Atem looked at Seth. "What do you think?"

Seth merely shrugged. "I'll have more of a view at dinner." He then looked at Tima. "This one, however…"

Itami lightly pecked Seth's temple. _Be nice to her. She's clearly frightened._

Seth glared at Itami; he hated it when his phoenix pecked at him. He would have started arguing with her if Atem had not given them a look. "Do not fight; that is the last thing I need."

Seth and Itami nodded. However, they were still mentally glaring at each other. Seth bowed at Atem and took his leave. Now alone with Tarra and Tima, Atem looked at Tima, who was still looking at her feet. While he did not like the fact that she was a slave that was given to him, he was stuck with her and decided to make the best of this.


	2. Getting to know you

Chapter 2

Getting to know you

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. Please be kind with this chapter; this is mainly for character introductions. More will come in future chapters.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

Alone with his new slave and phoenix, Atem took the time to study Tima closely. She appeared to be his height but it was hard to figure since she had her head down. Her hair was wavy but extremely dirty and full of knots; Atem could not tell if this was because she came from a poor family before she became a slave or because Roxanna's family treated her horribly. What fascinated the Pharaoh the most was the color of her skin. While he had seen people with lighter tanned skin than his, he never had a chance to look at it this close. He looked at her. "Tima, is it?" When she nodded, he told her, "You can speak to me."

Tima just said quietly, "Yes, Master."

Atem felt uncomfortable hearing her call him that. He did not like to be called that because he believed in equality, even though he was taught that he was a god to his people. "You don't have to be so formal."

Tima peeked up at him. "But Master…it is what I have been told back at Greece."

Atem understood that, knowing that every culture is different. "Well, here, we do things a little different."

Tima blinked at him as Tarra looked at him, seeing right through him. _You're still uncomfortable._

Atem mentally glared at her. He did not want her to act as his inner voice. Tima took notice of Tarra and tilted her head. Catching her look, Atem said, "This is Tarra, my phoenix."

Tima started to get a little nervous, as if ready to be struck down for looking at something that belonged to him. Wanting to break the tension, Atem asked, "Are you from Greece yourself?"

Tima shook her head. "No…the promise land."

Atem blinked in confusion. The Head of All Servants Kiko came from a place that her people called the Promise Land but he did not think that Tima was like Kiko. When Atem asked her to explain, Tima lowered her head and said, "It's all right, Master…I don't expect anyone to know where that is…"

Hoping that he did not upset her, Atem told her, "It's not that…I was just a little confused."

Tima did not respond, keeping her head lowered. She was starting to get homesick since she had not been in Israel in years and missed it. However, she remembered that she was in the presence of her new master and looked up at him. "So…what will you have me do? I am to be of service to you."

Atem did not want her to serve him but he did not know how to tell her that. Tarra had sat back and observing the conversation between the two. She looked at Atem and asked, _Confused, are you?_

Atem mentally sighed. _Tarra, I just don't know what to do._ He then noticed the look in Tima's eyes. _And I have a feeling she's homesick._

Tarra looked at Tima and noticed the same look. That gave her an idea. _Tell you what. Why don't I get Kiko? She can show Tima around._

Atem nodded and turned. _Very well. I will be in my study until dinner._

Tarra nodded and flew off to find Kiko. Tima watched her in amazement; while she had seen exotic birds in Greece, she had never seen a bird of legend like a phoenix. Atem started to walk to his study, wanting to know more about this Promise Land that Tima mentioned and Tima immediately started to follow him. This made the Pharaoh feel uncomfortable; he did not want a slave that remained at his heels at all time. He turned around, making Tima stop, and said, "You don't need to follow me all the time."

Tima blushed and lowered her head. "But…I'm your slave."

Atem sighed. "Yes, but you're a person as well." Tima peeked up at him, surprised to hear that, as he continued to walk. She stayed still for a moment, trying to digest what he said. It had been so long since someone called her a person. Atem hoped that that statement would both make her feel better and keep her from following. However, soon he heard her footsteps following. Sighing, he paused, making her pause as well. "Master?"

Atem turned around; he had to fix something immediately. "Stop calling me that."

Tima recoiled a little, expecting a hit. "I'm sorry."

Atem shook his head. "Please, do not apologize."

Tima looked down a little. "Then…what shall I call you? I was taught to call people Master or Mistress."

Atem gently grabbed her chin and made her look him in the eyes. "Then we're going to break that habit. From now on, you shall call me Pharaoh, not Master."

Tima blinked a couple of times. "Permission to ask you a question?"

Atem let go of her chin. "Of course. And you may ask me anything you wish; you do not need my permission."

Tima tried to hide the blush that was arising on her face. After years of being a slave in Greece in a horrible household, this was culture shock for her. "Why do you not like being called Master? You own me now."

Atem looked away and murmured, "Not by choice."

Tima tilted her head again. "What?"

Atem shook his head. "It's too long of a story. I'm sure you would not understand."

He did not want to dump his emotional turmoil on her; that was not right in his eyes. He turned and continued to walk to his study. Hearing her footsteps, he sighed and looked back at her as he kept walking. "Tima, you don't have to follow me all the time. You have choice."

Tima almost tripped in shock. "Choice?"

Atem nodded. "Of course. You do not always have to be at my beck and call. If I need something, I can always do it myself."

Tima could not believe that she was hearing. "But you're the Pharaoh! Surely, you cannot go things on your own! That's why I'm here, to serve you!"

Atem kept back an exasperated sigh. He felt like he was getting nowhere fast. He continued to think about how to answer her to both make her feel like she was doing her job and to get past the brainwashing she got from Greece. When he arrived at his study, he looked back at her and said the first thing that came to his mind: "You can keep me company."

Tima blinked in response. "Is that all?" Atem nodded, leaving Tima confused. She was expecting him to have a command to do chores and such. But just keep him company? She shook her head a little. "You seem so different, Ma-"

Atem immediately cut her off. "Ah! What have we established, Tima?"

Tima blushed a little. "Pharaoh."

Atem nodded and smiled. "There. That's a start."

Tima looked at him, still wrapping her head around this new place, as Tarra returned to Atem's shoulder. He immediately looked at her. _Well?_

Tarra's eyes sparkled, as if she was smiling. _Found her in the gardens as usual. Took a while to tear her away from the plants but she's on her way._

As soon as she said that, a girl ran up to them. He looked up and smiled at who was coming. Tima looked up and saw at the newcomer. She had short blond hair that appeared to go down to her shoulder blades but it was hard to tell since she had her hair up in two pigtails. She was dressed in a short sleeved, shoulder less shirt that was short enough to show her belly, which was decorated with a scarf belt, with a long ankle-length skirt that revealed sandals on her feet. What stood out the most about her was her bright green eyes. Tima had never seen such green eyes before, for she had never met a Ceterian before. The girl smiled and bowed her head to Atem. "I'm sorry about that, Atem! I was busy tending to the plants and I couldn't leave them alone."

Atem chuckled. "It's all right, Kiko. It's in your nature."

Atem knew that, as a Ceterian, Kiko was very tuned into the planet. Her people had had a long history but it was a history that was very secretive and mysterious for reasons unknown. All that was clear was that Ceterians had a close relationship with the Earth itself and that their distinctive mark was their green eyes. Kiko turned her attention to Tima. "So…is this the girl Tarra told me about?"

Tima blinked in confusion. Tarra was a bird; how could a bird tell anyone anything? She wanted to ask for an explanation but Atem nodded before Tima could ask. "Yes, this is Tima."

Kiko turned to the new girl. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kiko."

Tima did not know if she should respond or not. She had been taught in Greece to not respond to anyone who was not her master; however, she knew that things were different here in Khement. A little lost, she looked at Atem, who nodded. "Go on, Tima. Introduce yourself; Kiko won't bite."

Kiko smiled and joked, "Hard, that is…" Atem smirked and looked at Kiko, who giggled and waved her hands. "I joke! I joke!"

Atem shook his head in amusement as Tima looked between Atem and Kiko, experiencing culture shock again. The two of them, one a Pharaoh and one a servant, were talking like they were equals; this would never happen back at the place where she lived in Greece. Seeing Kiko looking at her, Tima blushed and looked down a little. "Um…I'm Tima."

Kiko smiled and nodded. "Welcome, Tima of the Promise Land."

Tima looked up, her eyes widened in surprise. "H-How did you know…?"

Kiko grinned with pride. "You can say that I'm one with the land."

Tima blinked with confusion so Atem tried to explain. "Tima, Kiko is a Cetria. Her people can communicate with the land and the plants that grow in the land."

It was clear by the look on her face and by the fact that Tima could not stop looking at Kiko's bright green eyes that Tima had never heard of a Cetria before. Kiko saw her look and smiled. "You like my eyes?"

Tima blushed and immediately looked away. "I'm sorry."

Kiko giggled and waved it off as a servant came up and bowed to Atem. "Dinner is prepared, my Pharaoh. Lady Roxanna is waiting for your presences."

Atem sighed and nodded. When the servant left, he said, "I guess there's no backing away from this…"

Kiko smiled out of sympathy for Atem. She knew that he was in this situation not by choice. "Don't worry, Pharaoh. Things will go well."

Just then, Seth passed them. Seeing Kiko, he stopped and looked at her with crossed arms. "Aren't you supposed to take care of the servants who are preparing dinner?"

Kiko waved her hand at him. "Yes, yes, I know! No need to remind me, High Priest."

With that, Kiko left. Tima watched her and found herself asking, "Where is she going?"

Atem heard her and told her, "She's going to serve me and Roxanna our dinners."

Tima's head immediately snapped up. "But I'm your slave! I must do that!"

Before Atem could stop her, Tima took off running after Kiko. Watching her, Seth noted, "Unusual girl."

Atem disagreed. "She's not unusual…she's just…different…"

When he said that, Atem spoke in a tone that seemed sad and looked in the direction where Tima took off. He felt sorry for her; from what he's seen by how she acted, she had a tough life as a slave and now she had to serve him, anticipating the same hard life. Seth noticed Atem's look. "My Pharaoh, is there something wrong?"

Atem shook his head. "No…it's nothing."

"If it is important, I need to know."

Atem shook his head and left to the dining room. It was a tall room decorated with paint designs and a few statues of the gods. The table was long and had eight chairs on either side. At the head of the table was a throne-like chair that Atem sat at and there was a plate set, water dish, and goblet waiting for him. To his dismay, Roxanna was sitting in the chair next to his with her own plate set and goblet. She had changed into a cotton dress. Seeing him, she stood up and bowed her head. "Good evening, Pharaoh."

Atem nodded at her and took his seat. "I trust you are enjoying your stay?"

Roxanna sat down with a big smile and nodded. "Oh yes, Pharaoh! Everywhere I go in this palace, it seems grander and grander! I don't think even the king of Greece has a grand palace as yours!"

Atem thought about that and took it as a compliment. After all, he had never been to Greece and did not know how different it was compared to his home. However, he got a glimpse of both Greece and Roxanna's true side with their next conversation. Roxanna pointed to a statue of the goddess Hatmehit. "But I must ask: what are the statues of animals and people?"

Atem looked at Hatmehit and gave her a silent prayer of thanks for the fish they were going to eat. "They are our gods."

Roxanna tilted her head. "You have your own gods?"

Like Atem, Roxanna had never been outside of her home country until now. Because of that, she only knew about the gods and goddesses that she grew up with. Before she could ask Atem to explain more about his deities, Tima came in with a plate of food in each hand and a pitcher of wine held against her chest with her arm. Atem saw this and noted that Tima seemed a little nervous around Roxanna. She served Atem and Roxanna since Roxanna was the Pharaoh's guest, bowed in silence, and left. Atem wanted to thank her but Roxanna chirped before he could speak. "Wonderful! She's doing what she was taught to do!"

That caught Atem's attention. "Taught…?"

Roxanna nodded. "That's correct. You see, the servants we give as gifts are taught to only serve their master. If they do not, there will be a consequence."

Atem did not like what he was hearing. "Consequence?"

Roxanna did not note the concern in his voice and nodded. "Nothing severe. It's only as big as the crime. Like if they refuse to serve their master: if they refuse for (let's say) ten days, they don't eat for those ten days."

Atem's stomach turned at the sound of that. But curiosity touched him about Tima and he had to ask: "Has Tima ever refused?"

Roxanna took a sip of the wine and thought for a moment. "Only to not take care of our idols. That really made Father angry. But since that's her faith, I just gave the job to someone else." She took another sip and added, "But she knows that if she does not obey you, my Pharaoh, she will receive the punishment."

Atem closed his eyes for a moment. He was curious about Tima refusing to care of the Greek idols because of her faith. He could accept and respect that choice because Kiko and a few other slaves had their beliefs that were different than his. Atem knew better than to judge someone because their faith was different. However, he did not the sound of Tima being taught that punishment was around the corner if she did not submit to her master. Atem was not like that and he was not liking Roxanna even more for her not seeing anything wrong with how she was raised. Roxanna looked at Atem. "Atem? Are you all right?"

Atem blinked, waking him up from his zone. "Huh? Yes, I'm fine."

Roxanna smiled. "I'm glad. You looked like something was bothering you."

Atem shook his head and dipped his hands in his water bowl to clean them. "Not at all."

Roxanna followed suit, not wanting to insult Atem with bad table manners. "All right then!"

They started to eat their food and Roxanna started to talk about Greece and herself. Atem half-listened and peeked to where Tima went off to. He knew that she was taught how to be a "proper slave" by Roxanna's family but he knew that there was more to her than that. 'Tima…if only I knew what you were thinking…' He only hoped that the next six months would be tolerable.


	3. First Month - Revelations

Chapter 3

First Month - Revelations

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

As soon as the sun rose, Tima was up and making Atem's breakfast. She knew that other slaves would be by his room to dress him and put scented oils on his skin. She tried to be the one who did that since she was his personal slave and even offered to help him with bathing but Atem would not hear of it. He did not feel comfortable with anyone washing him but he kept quiet about that. He did, however, tell her that he wanted to respect her innocence.

Tima paused as she was slicing Atem's bread. She never thought that he would care enough about her to worry about her innocence. She had been his slave for about a month and she was still getting used to how things were done. Atem saw it constantly with her bracing for a hit when she messed up. Her mind kept reminding her that Atem was not like that but her body had the reflex built in. She sighed and reached for a vine of grapes. "I hope I can get rid of it…"

"Get rid of what?"

Tima jumped and looked behind her. Kiko was standing behind her with a branch full of dates. Tima turned back to the bread. "Those for the Pharaoh?"

Kiko went around the table and set the branch down between them so she could talk to Tima and work. "Yes…but we can take a few for ourselves."

Tima looked up in shock as Kiko plucked off a date and popped it in her mouth. "Are you insane? We can't steal from the Pharaoh!"

Kiko waved it off as she finished chewing her date. Swallowing, she stated, "Who's going to miss two or three dates? Besides, Atem doesn't care; you should know that by now."

Tima blushed and finished cutting the bread. She felt weird every time Kiko reminded her that Atem liked treating everyone as equals. "You know I'm still getting used to that."

Kiko rolled her eyes and started to put the dates into a bowl. "Come on, Tima. It's been a whole moon by now."

"And I've been Mistress' slave for many more moons so…"

Kiko tensed up. Tima always referred to Roxanna as Mistress (since that was her official title to Tima). Kiko herself hated Roxanna; that woman acted like she was high and mighty because she was betrothed to Atem and never missed a chance to rub it in to everyone's face. Shaking her head to try and forget the woman, the blond plucked a date and smirked, getting an idea. "Tima, can I ask you something?"

Tima looked up and opened her mouth to tell Kiko to ask away but Kiko pushed something into her mouth instead. Tima was extremely surprised and covered her mouth. "What is this?"

Kiko giggled. "Try a date."

Still covering her mouth, Tima's face turned into a sulk; she was not used to Kiko tricking her like that and she doubted that she would ever get used to it. However, her tune changed: thanks to her mouth becoming a sulk, the date was squished and the juice trickled out. Her eyes widened in surprise as she started to eat it. "Mm…this is good."

Kiko giggled and took another date for herself. "I told you."

Swallowing and spitting out the seed, Tima got a little worried. "We won't be punished for stealing, will we?"

Kiko groaned. She was getting tired of Tima clinging to her fear of being beaten. "I'll tell you again! No one's going to notice two little dates missing from the branch and Atemu's not like that! I keep telling you that!"

Tima lowered her head. She started to arrange a plate for Atem with a few slices of bread, dates, grapes, and got a goblet for wine. Kiko sighed and reached over, making Tima look at her. "I'm sorry I snapped at you…but you got to get rid of Roxanna's brainwashing. Okay?"

Tima's eyes lowered. "How can I? I'm a slave…beneath everyone."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

Kiko's grip tightened a little, making Tima look at her again. "No…you are not. You're a human being. A person placed on this planet by Holy or, as you call him, God. You are not beneath anyone nor are you an object. You…are a human." Seeing Tima speechless, Kiko smiled and went back to plucking the dates. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed."

Tima tilted her head as she got a pitcher and poured the wine into the goblet. "Noticed what?"

Kiko's smile widened. "When you go take Atem his breakfast, look at all the servants' faces. You'll notice what I mean."

A little confused, Tima picked up the tray holding the food for Atem and headed to his room. Along the way, she ran into other slaves and higher-level servants. As she passed them, she studied their faces carefully and noticed something: none of them looked like they were being looked down upon. In fact…they looked like they were full of happiness and gratitude. They looked like they were serving the Pharaoh happily and not being forced to serve him. Tima smiled softly at this but the smile quickly faded when she saw Roxanna coming with Lapidos. Tima moved out of her way and bowed her head with respect. Roxanna noticed her and stopped for a moment. "Having breakfast?"

Tima shook her head. "No, Mistress…this is for the Pharaoh."

Roxanna nodded and left. It was clear that she accepted the answer with a bitter taste in her mouth. Over the past month, she had tried to eat breakfast with him since she was set to marry him in five months but Atem refused. He claimed that he did this because a couple did not spend every waking moment together. While that was true, he used that as his excuse since he could not tell her that he wanted nothing to do with her. After she left, Tima continued on to Atem's room.

Atem was in the middle of getting dressed by a couple of male servants. He was hoping that he would not run into Roxanna too much during the day. He knew that he would still see her for lunch and dinner and that was hard enough. Just then, he heard a knock at the door and silently groaned, hoping that it was not Roxanna. "Who is it?"

Tima's voice sounded. "Your breakfast, my Pharaoh."

Atem lit up a little when he heard her voice. He enjoyed her company, both because she offered him an insight into a culture that he never met on a personal setting and because he sensed that there was more to her than just her servant status. Tima always denied it because of how Roxanna's family treated her for years but Atem continued to believe it. "Enter, Tima."

Tima came in and laid the tray at Atem's feet, keeping her head down. "My Pharaoh."

Atem smiled as the servants finished dressing him and left. He went to the corner and sat on a cushion. "I've told you many times, you can look at me, Tima."

Tima blushed a little as she picked up the tray and brought it to him. "I still don't understand how you can say that. I am your slave…and you are my m-" She wanted to say "master" but Atem gave her a look, causing her to say, "…you are the Pharaoh."

Atem started to eat his food. "I know. But I am not the type of ruler where I step on everyone."

Tima nodded and watched him. She liked how Atem treated her; it was a nice change to what she was used to. Atem caught her looking and she immediately looked away. "I'm sorry…"

Atem offered her a date. "Want one?"

Tima immediately shook her head. "No. That is the Pharaoh's food; a slave can't eat the Pharaoh's food."

Atem chuckled as he continued to eat. He then jokingly said, "Then be sure to tell Kiko that."

Tima reacted with surprise. "You know?"

Atem nodded. "When we were young, the two of us and Jouno would steal food from the kitchen. It was a little game of ours."

Tima thought about that. Jouno was the head of the guards and considered a close friend of Atem. Tima had met him in passing a few times and considered him to be loud and brash but fun to be around nonetheless. Breaking from her thoughts, she asked, "How can you not look down upon us? I mean…you're the ruler of Khment and we serve you."

Atem took a sip of his wine and sighed softly. He then looked at her seriously. "I am not a god. I am a human being, just like you and everyone in my court. Am I to believe that I am better than everyone else because I was taught that? If anything, I owe everything I do to servants like you."

Tima blushed in shock. "What? How can you say that?"

Atem stood up and put on his cape. "Because the servants take care of me and my court. Without you, we would more than likely fall to disease or lose our way." He smiled at Tima as he passed her. "My dream is to have a world without social boundaries, where everyone is equal. Maybe I can show you that world." With that, he left to attend to his duties as Pharaoh.

Tima did not know how to respond to that. A world without social boundaries? For a brief second, she wanted to believe it but then shook it off. Thanks to her being a slave, she found it hard to believe such a world could exist. Still, it was a nice dream that Atem had.

Later that afternoon, Tima and Kiko were shopping in the market place. Tima felt like making her special stew tonight but the palace food storage did not have everything she needed. As she was picking out the spices she needed, she asked Kiko, "Kiko…has the Pharaoh ever told you about this dream of his?"

Kiko thought for a moment. "Depends on what dream you're talking about. He has a few."

Tima paid for the spices and explained, "The world without social boundaries."

Kiko smiled. "Oh yeah. He's been talking about that since he was young."

Tima sighed and looked at Kiko. "But how can he think that? You can't move past your social status…no matter how much you want to."

Kiko flicked Tima's forehead. "Need I remind you, you're not in Greece anymore. What Roxanna's family taught you is wrong."

Tima touched her forehead and blushed a little. "But…"

Kiko stopped her as they started to head back to the palace. "Let me give you an example: when they were young, Mahad was bitten by a snake to protect Atem. Atem sucked out the venom."

Tima's eyes widened. "What? He could have been poisoned by the venom!"

Kiko nodded. "Yeah, he knew that and so did Mahad, who tried to tell him that a prince shouldn't worry about someone like him. But Atem silenced him, pointing out that both had blood in their body. After that, he and Mahad grew to be closer friends than ever."

Tima smiled at that. Kiko saw her smile and smiled as well. "Still getting use to this?"

Tima nodded. "Yeah. Things are so different here. I found that out the first night I was here."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not used to not having all the slaves sleeping in the same shack."

Kiko reacted in surprise to that. She and Tima shared a room and it was comfortable for them. "Roxanna's family put all the slaves in one shack to sleep?" When Tima nodded, Kiko shuddered. "That's horrible…unhealthy! How can the servants do their best if they're all crammed into one house, where they would easily catch illness?"

Tima nodded. She remembered how horrible the living conditions were. Kiko looked at Tima as they returned to the palace. "How can you still called her Mistress after how she treated you?"

Tima blushed a little. "I was taught to call her that. Besides, she didn't treat me like that…her father did. He…well…"

Kiko waited for Tima to continue. When she did not, the Cetria asked, "Her father is what?"

Tima quickly shook her head. "I can't speak ill things about others!"

Kiko suspected that Tima was taught to keep quiet about how the slaves were treated. She made Tima look at her and told her, "It's not ill-will if you're telling the truth. Besides…he can't get you here and neither can his daughter."

Tima immediately went on the defense out of habit. "Mistress was always kind to me." Kiko did not believe Tima and the brunette could clearly see that. "It's true. She even respected me not wanting to touch her idols. Most would have laughed."

Kiko raised her eyebrow. "Oh really?" When Tima nodded, the Cetria said flat out, "Then why does it feel like you're hiding something?"

Tima wanted to defend herself but she could tell that she was going to lose the battle as she lowered her head. Kiko put a hand on her friend. "Tima…honesty is our honor. I want to hear the truth from you."

After doing a silent prayer begging God to forgive her for lying, Tima admitted, "Mistress…treats us like dirt…and her father…beat us…and Mistress…just looks away…when it happens…"

Kiko's heart broke and her hatred towards Roxanna grew. Tima's eyes teared up a little as Kiko hugged her gently. "There, there, Tima…it's all right."

Tima settled down after a minute and pulled back, wiping her eyes. "Thank you." With a smile, they headed to the kitchen to start on the stew.

When the sun got lower in the sky, Atem found himself stuck listening to Roxanna prattle on and on about how her day was. He pretended to listen, which seemed to satisfy her, but he really wanted to discuss what Kiko told him about how Roxanna's family treated their slaves. He did not tolerate people beating other people, especially when they used their "statuses" as excuses. He even considered telling Roxanna to go home but he figured that he would not hear the end of it from Seth and Aknadin and he did worry about how Roxanna's father would react to him backing out of the arrangement because of a difference in opinion. Before he could say anything, Tima came into the dining room with two bowls of stew. Seeing the bowls, Roxanna immediately lit up. "Ooh, you made the stew! Thank you, Tima!"

Atem looked at the bowl and thanked Tima for serving them. As Tima poured them more wine, he turned to Roxanna and noted, "You seem excited."

Roxanna nodded. "Oh, yes. Tima makes the best stew. One taste and you'll be in paradise."

Curious, Atem took a taste. While he did agree that it was delicious, there was something else that made him love the stew. It was different and unique, something he had never tasted from his top cook. He looked at Tima and smiled. "It is delicious, Tima. Thank you."

Tima blushed a little and nodded. "You're welcome, Pharaoh."

As Tima left to finish things in the kitchen, Atem continued to eat, trying to figure out what was it that made it taste so different. He knew that it was not the meat, vegetables, or broth…it was something else. As he was contemplating, he heard, _Maybe it's the emotions._ Looking up, he saw Tarra fly down and perch on his shoulder. _Maybe it has something to do with her family._

Before Atem could respond, Roxanna smiled. "Hi, Tarra." She had tried to make friends with the phoenix ever since she arrived in Khment but Tarra refused to give her anything, making it very clear that she did not like the human. Roxanna sulked a little. "You think you and I can become good friends, Tarra?"

Tarra flew up to the rafters, her way of saying "not likely." Atem explained politely, "Tarra's trust has to be earned. She won't trust anyone except me and other phoenixes and their holders.

"Are there more than Tarra and Itami?"

Atem nodded. "You'll meet them eventually." Secretly, he doubted that because Itami and Tarra had told the other phoenixes how unpleasant Roxanna was and they always did their best to not run into her.

As the sun started to set, Atem retired to his room. Roxanna wanted to spend more time with him but he feigned fatigue, wanting to just be away from her. When he reached his room, he found Tima there. "Tima…this is a surprise."

Tima looked up from making Atem's bed. "Why, my Pharaoh? As your personal servant, I will follow you. Since you are retiring, I will make your bed."

Atem knew this since Tima had been doing this every night the past month. However, she always got it done before he made it to the room; she was late this night because her stew took longer to make than the usual meals that she and the other servants served the Pharaoh. He then blushed a little and looked down at himself. He felt a little uneasy because he could not undress in front of her. As he contemplated the situation, he heard Tarra laughing at him and he mentally glared at her. Tima looked up from making his bed, saw how red Atem was, and immediately went to him. "Pharaoh? Are you all right? You look so red."

Atem blushed a little redder since he was caught. "No…I'm fine."

Tima did not believe him and thought that he was getting a fever. Wanting to check him, she put the back of her hand on his forehead. Atem froze; while he has had doctors (both male and female) check him, for some reason, Tima doing this was making him react in a way that he did not expect. It did not help that Tarra was still laughing at him, especially when Tima looked worried. "You are warmer than usual. You should go straight to bed; I'll help you."

Atem tried to protest that he was fine but they fell on deaf ears. Tima made Atem lay down and quickly went into the bathing room for a bowl of water. Alone, Atem sat up and glared up at Tarra, who followed them and was sitting in a high window. _You do realize this is your fault._

Tarra looked down at him. _How is this my fault?_

_If you hadn't laughed at me when you first did, Tima wouldn't have caught me blushing and I wouldn't be in this situation._

Tarra's eyes sparkled, as if she was smirking. _Oh? And why were you blushing in the first place?_

Tarra said that to make Atem remember the reason and blush again. Unfortunately, he fell for her trick; he started blushing again, making Tarra laugh. Just then, Tima came back with a bowl of water and a rag. Seeing him red, she bowed and said apologetically, "Forgive me for this."

Atem looked up and just managed to utter, "What?"

Before he could react, Tima pushed him down on the bed and was putting the wet rag to his forehead. It would not have been so bad for Atem…except she was literally sitting on him to keep him from moving. She had seen Lapidos do this to Roxanna the few times Roxanna was extremely sick (since he had Roxanna's father's permission to do so) and thought that this was all right. After all, both were servants and both had to make sure their masters were well. "You can be really stubborn. That's not healthy for the Pharaoh."

Atem was frozen under her. He did not even hear Tarra laughing so hard that she fell out the window. From this position, he was able to get a close look at Tima and felt something funny. He could not help but notice how her brown hair outlined her face perfectly…or how soft her skin looked..or how much he enjoyed this attention she was giving him. Granted, he was used to servants taking care of him but the attention from Tima was different, in a strange but good way. Tima did not seem to notice the look on his face or the position she was in; all her attention was on making him better. All of a sudden, Atem woke up when he heard Tarra (who flew back to the window) say, _Enjoying this, are we?_

Atem immediately sat up to yell at her. Unfortunately, his sudden movement accidentally pushed Tima down to the floor. His eyes widening, he immediately went to her. "Tima! I'm so sorry. Are you all right?"

Tima quickly got on her hands and knees, trembling. She realized where she was when she was trying to help him and thought that he pushed her off because he did not like it. "Please forgive me! I don't know what came over me. I must have made you uncomfortable! I'm so sorry!"

Atem got in front of her and made her look at him. "You did nothing wrong. All right? Now are you okay?"

Tima looked in his eyes and noticed that his eyes showed something that she never imagined that masters had towards their slaves: concern and warmth. In response, she blushed but nodded. "Yes…I am fine, Pharaoh."

Atem nodded and stood up. "Good. You may go to bed, Tima."

Thanks to how she held him down and the brainwashing Roxanna's family gave her, Tima was convinced that Atem was upset with her. She lowered her head and nodded. "Good night, Pharaoh."

Atem nodded. Alone, he collapsed on the bed and sighed. He did enjoy the way she tried to make his "fever" go down…but he could not help but wonder if there was another reason for enjoying it. He ignored Tarra's laughter and attempts at a conversation and went to bed.

In hers and Kiko's room, Tima laid in bed and hid under her blanket. She could not believe how she acted and was convinced that she had ruined any good grounds she made with Atem. She did not know what kind of punishment she would get but knew that she only had to brace herself.


	4. Second Month - Eyes Opening

Chapter 4

Second Month - Eyes Opening

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

One morning, Atem groaned and stretched his back. He had gotten back from his run with Jouno and was just getting out of the bathing area. As servants entered to dress him, he asked, "Have you seen Tima?"

The head servant nodded. "Yes, my Pharaoh. She is fixing your breakfast."

Atem smiled a little. He had wanted to talk to her for the past month. Ever since she sat on him to try to cool a supposed fever that he had, she had taken to being very tense when she was around him. He tried to tell her that she was not in trouble and he was not mad at her but she had a hard time believing him. He only hoped that he would get through to her soon. As if on cue, Tima came in with his breakfast. The other servants bowed and left since Atem was fully dressed. Atem smiled and nodded at Tima. "Good morning, Tima."

Tima just nodded at him and set the tray in front of him. Atem looked up at her. "Aren't you going to talk to me?"

Tima winced a little and looked away, a little nervous. Atem sighed and started to eat his food. "I've told you many times: I'm not mad about what happened."

Tima looked at him. "How can you say that? I held you down…in that compromising position."

Suddenly remembering that, Atem blushed deeply. Tarra, who was cleaning her feathers, caught Atem's blush and laughed at him. Atem mentally glared at her and cleared his throat. "Um, yes…that position was…very unexpected."

Tima immediately got on her hands and knees, bowing her head. "Please forgive me…I deserve to be punished."

Atem sighed; he felt like they were back to square one again. He reached over and touched her head gently. She winced out of instinct as he said, "I will not punish. However, I wish to know why you did that."

Tima swallowed hard. "I've seen…Lapidos do it to Mistress…the Head Master told him that he could do that…since Mistress fights when she's sick."

Atem listened and understood. "So, because you've seen him do it, you thought you could do it as well?"

Tima nodded and tensed up again. "Please…forgive me."

Reaching under, Atem made Tima look at her. "I was never mad at you. But please do not do that again."

Tima nodded. However, it was still clear that she was still worried about being punished. Atem sighed softly and continued to eat his breakfast. He was now out of ideas about how to get her to come out of her shell again.

Later that day, Tima was walking around the palace, trying to find Atem so she could serve him. When she left him to make his lunch, he was in the middle of a meeting with the priests about the development on a new temple and possibly extending the kingdom. However, when she went to his balcony where he always ate to drop off the food, he was not there. She went by the meeting room but he had already left. So she left the food back in the kitchen to keep it from attracting flies and went on a hunt for Atem. She was still a little nervous about him possibly hitting her but their talk that morning did help her a little. As she was walking, she came across a male head servant, who looked a little frantic. "Are you okay?"

The servant looked at Tima and immediately asked her, "Are you busy now?"

Tima blinked a little in surprise. "Um…I'm looking for the Pharaoh…to serve him his lunch."

Taking that as a "I'm not busy," the servant grabbed Tima's hands. "Please, I need your help. One of the servants is sick and can't do his duty now. Please, can you do his chore for him?"

Tima wanted to protest but she knew that part of her duty as a slave was to help out when other slaves were down. Sighing mentally, she nodded. "All right." With that, the servant handed her a rag. Tima raised her eyebrow. "What's this?"

The servant started to pull her to another room. "What you need to do. You need to clean the gods and goddesses."

Tima immediately stopped, making the other servant stop as well. "What? What's wrong?"

Tima gave back the rag. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"You said that you would help."

Tima shook her head, feeling conflicted. She knew that she had to obey an order but she could not disobey a commandment of her religion and thought that the servant would laugh at her for her beliefs. As the servant tried to get her to come clean about why she could not clean the statues, Roxanna turned the corner and saw them. The servant and Tima bowed their heads as the Greek asked, "What's going on here?"

The servant looked at Tima. "She said that she would help me by doing a sick slave's chore but now she's refusing."

Remembering that Roxanna helped her out of a similar situation in Greece, Tima looked up at Roxanna. "They want me to clean their gods and goddesses. You know that I can't do that."

To her surprise, Roxanna gave her a blank look, as if she did not know why Tima could not do that. Tima's heart sank as the Greek told her, "Come now, Tima. You were told to do a chore and you're to do it."

Tima did not even twitch. She was making it clear that she was not going to clean the idols. Roxanna glared at her and took a step closer. "Tima…do as you were told."

Tima paled and took a step back until she was against the wall. The other servant got a little nervous at Roxanna's actions; he knew that Roxanna had a reputation of being rough with the slaves but he had never seen her up close like this. Roxanna got close to Tima and glared. "I don't care how it was in Greece. We're in Khment now and you need to set a good example since I was nice enough to make you the Pharaoh's personal slave. Now do your job or you'll get punished."

Tima looked away, scared. Roxanna snorted and stepped back to administer the punishment when they heard a familiar voice: "What's the meaning of this?"

Everyone looked up and immediately bowed their heads in respect. Atem went up to Tima and asked, "Are you all right?"

Tima blinked and almost blushed in surprise. The Pharaoh was worried about a common slave like her, even after how uncomfortable she made him last month? She nodded as Atem asked the other servant, "What is going on here?"

Looking up, the servant said, "One of the slaves is sick and can't clean the statues of the gods and goddesses. I asked Tima to do so but she refused and Roxanna…was about to punish her for disobeying."

Atem glared a little at Roxanna, who shrunk back. She did not like his glare. Atemu looked at the servant and explained, "Tima can't touch our deities because of her religion."

The servant looked at Tima. "Is that true?" After Tima nodded a little, he smiled. "Well, why didn't you say so? I'll go find someone else; if not, I'll clean them myself."

With that, the servant left, leaving Tima in a small state of shock. She did not expect that he would accept her different religion and its rules but she was grateful. Atem looked at Tima and smiled. "Not all the servants follow my religion so they're used to dealing with other beliefs. Now can you go get my lunch and meet me on the balcony?"

Tima nodded and went off to the kitchen. Roxanna was a little shocked as well but for a different reason. "Atem, how could you let her off like that? She disobeyed an order that was given to her."

Atem gave Roxanna a hard look. "As I recall, you were lenient about her refusing to touch your idols. So what has changed?"

Roxanna paled a little. She did not like being called on her words. "Well…she was given an order and refused it. That's a bad thing for the personal slave of the Pharaoh."

Atem's hard look turned harder. "You need to treat the servants with better respect, you understand me? No one in my palace will treat them horribly just because of who they are. Do I make myself clear?"

Roxanna squirmed. She hated to be scolded, especially when she truly believed that she did nothing wrong. When she looked up at him, she saw that he was walking around. "Atem, where are you going?"

"Tima has my lunch waiting for me."

Roxanna started to catch up to him. "Wait, I'll join you."

Atem narrowed his eyes. "No. I prefer to eat alone." With that, he left, leaving her stunned.

As he entered his room, Atem heard a female voice singing a simple melody. Pausing for a moment, he soon realized that it was Tima out on the balcony. As she kept flies off his lunch, she was vocalizing a tune. Atem stood still and listened to her. Her voice was beautiful and he felt himself almost go into a trance. This was different from the singers that performed at parties; for a reason he did not understand, her voice captivated him. He also noticed that her face seemed truly relaxed and at peace; he guessed that this was her true face. When she stopped, he applauded her, startling her. "Pharaoh! I…"

Atem approached her with a smile. "You have a lovely voice, Tima."

Tima blushed a little. She had never done just a melody before and she always did it in private since she once saw a male slave threatened to have his tongue cut off when he was singing on the job. "You…don't mind…me singing?"

Atem shook his head and started to eat his lunch, which was meat and vegetables with wine. "Why would I mind? You have a gift and gifts are not to be stepped on."

Tima had a feeling that there was another meaning to what Atem said since she was a gift to him from Roxanna. She started to leave him when he looked at her. "Going so soon?"

Tima looked back at him. "I don't want to bother you."

Atem smiled and shook his head. "I told you the day you arrived: one of the things you can do for me is keep me company. So stay."

Tima felt a little funny but joined Atem's side again. Atem sighed, still smiling, and said, "Talk to me. Why are you so nervous around me all the time?"

Tima lowered her head a little and fidgeted. She decided to come clean to him. "Years…with the Head Master…and Mistress…always being punished for doing wrong…even when they said they weren't mad…"

Atem immediately realized what she was getting at: she thought he was lying about not being mad about the position she put him in. He sighed and touched her shoulder, feeling her flinch. "Here, our word is our bond. When we say that we are not mad, we are not mad. So please, stop beating yourself. You're safe here, all right?"

Tima looked at Atem and saw the truth in his eyes. Finally believing him, she smiled softly and nodded.

That night, Tima was settling into bed when Kiko came in, finished with her chores. "Well! You finally look better."

Tima blushed a little and scratched the back of her neck. "Well…the Pharaoh explained that his word is his bond. That finally convinced me."

Kiko tackled her to the bed and put her in a playful headlock. "I've told you for the past moon! Why don't you listen to me, your friend?"

Tima laughed and got out of the headlock. Before she could explain, Kiko suddenly remembered and asked, "By the way, do you want to join us tomorrow morning?"

Tima tilted her head. "What's tomorrow morning?"

"Before sunrise, Atem usually goes running with the Captain of his guard and a few guards. I go with him to tend to theirs and the horses' water needs."

Tima's eyes widened a little. "How long has the Pharaoh been doing this?" After Kiko explained that he did this every morning, Tima got a little worried. "I'm the Pharaoh's personal slave…and I haven't been attending to his runs?"

Kiko waved it off. "Don't worry about it. You can join us tomorrow. But you think you can handle it?"

Tima's face scrunched with confusion. "Of course. I'm bound to serve the Pharaoh and I can run."

Kiko shook her head. "That's not what I mean. What I mean…ah, why spoil the surprise? Get some sleep; we get up early." With that, she left to tend to something she forgot.

Tima did her evening prayer and laid back. She had no idea what Kiko was talking about but was still determined to serve the Pharaoh. Little did she know, Atem always took off his shirt for the run back and Kiko was a little curious on how Tima would react to seeing that…especially since she suspected that Tima was worried about what happened for more than just a slave overstepping boundaries with the Pharaoh.


	5. Third Month - Hearts Opening

Chapter 5

Third Month - Hearts Opening

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

The next morning, Tima was stretching in her room. She did not want to get a cramp while serving Atem during the run. As she continued her exercises, Kiko came in after knocking. "Morning."

Tima smiled. "Good morning, Kiko."

Kiko chuckled, seeing Tima stretch. "Ready to go?"

Before Tima could answer, a blue phoenix flew in and landed on Kiko's shoulder. The blond smiled and scratched its chest. "Finally awake, Nayru?"

Nayru nodded and then looked at Tima, who was stunned to see that Kiko had a phoenix. She had assumed that only those in the court had the majestic creatures. Kiko saw Tima's look and laughed. "What? Is it such a surprise that I am a guardian?"

Tima blushed a little. "I'm sorry. I just…"

Kiko smiled and waved it off. "It's all right. After all, Nayru is never around when you and I are together. So introductions are in order. Nayru, meet Tima. Tima, meet Nayru, the water phoenix."

Tima nodded as Nayru chirped at her. He decided to wait until he communicated with her mentally like he did with Kiko; after all, he just met her. Kiko grinned and took Tima's hand. "Come on! Let's go!"

Before Tima could ask where they were going, Kiko took her out to the stables, a part of the palace that Tima had never been to before, with Nayru following them in the air. Once they were there, Kiko went to help the stable boys and Nayru flew up to the rafters to watch. Not sure if she should help, Tima stayed and drank in the sights. Kiko and the stable boys were loading a horse with water pouches, food packs, and medical packs with bandages and medicinal cream. Kiko looked up and smiled at Tima. "Looking forward to joining us?"

Tima nodded and offered, "Need any help?"

Kiko shook her head. She then chuckled. "But speaking of help, you may have to help me with someone else in the group."

Almost on cue, a tall young man with lightly tanned skin, golden blond hair, and honey-brown eyes burst into the stables, startling the horses. They would have continued to be scared if Kiko did not settle them down. Wincing at the loud entrance, Tima looked up and saw that it was Jouno, captain of the guards. He wore a simple shirt, breeches, sandals, and a sword on his side. To Tima's surprise, a brown phoenix flew in and nuzzled Jouno's head, making him laugh. Kiko glared at him. "Jouno, how many times have I told you? Don't enter like that; it scares the horses."

Nayru agreed. _Earthzina, you need to control your guardian._

Earthzina, the earth phoenix, chirped with delight. _Come on, Nayru. It's all in fun, after all._

Jouno grinned and shrugged a little. "You know a better way to make an entrance, Kiko?"

Before Kiko could answer, Jouno opened the stable door a little more, letting Atem walk in with Tarra on his shoulder. Seeing him in a similar outfit to Jouno was startling to Tima. He seemed like everyone else. Looking around, Atem saw Tima and was pleasantly surprised. "Come to join us?"

Tima nodded a little. "Yes. As your personal servant, Pharaoh…I should have accompanied you for every run. Forgive me."

Atem smiled as Tarra flew up to the rafters. "No forgiveness is needed. You didn't know about the runs."

Full of energy, Jouno put Atem in a headlock and said to a stunned Tima, "This guy doesn't know how to be mad at a woman. So you can relax around him, right, 'Tem?"

Tima could not believe what she was seeing. This man was handling the Pharaoh like this? But what surprised her even more was Atem's reaction: he laughed and pushed Jouno off. "Save that energy for the run."

Jouno saluted Atem, making his phoenix chirp in a laughing way. As Atem and Jouno started to stretch, Tima moved over to Kiko, who was finishing loading the horse. "Is Jouno…always like this?"

Kiko smirked and nodded. "Oh yeah…only when Priest Seth isn't around."

Tima did not know what to think of that so she changed the subject. "So what do I do?"

Kiko gave her a simple answer: "You tend to Atem, however he needs it." Tima blinked at that, making Kiko smile. "Don't worry, Tima; it's quite simple. We ride beside them as they run and, at resting points, we give everyone water and check for wounds. But keep in mind…" she gestured for Tima to come closer, "…Atem has a tendency to not drink when he needs it so you may have to force him to drink."

Tima let out a little giggle, which caught the attention of Atem. "What's so funny?"

Tima blushed and was about to wave it off when Kiko grinned and said, "I'm just telling her how stubborn you are."

Atem gave her a look, which brightened with amusement when Jouno grinned at Kiko. "But not as stubborn as you, love."

Kiko looked away, turning her nose up. "Your flirts don't work on me, Jouno." Everyone but Tima (who did not understand the joke) chuckled that Jouno's routine flirt did not work. Kiko changed the subject by announcing that they were ready to go and getting on her horse. Tima's eyes immediately widened with shock: Kiko was riding the horse like a man! Kiko saw Tima's look and asked, "What?" As Tima stuttered her disbelief, Kiko waved it off. "You're in Khment now, remember? Besides, it's more comfortable this way. Come on."

Tima froze as she looked at her horse. Her dilemma was as plain as the nose on her face: she did not know how to mount a horse. Seeing this, Kiko jumped off her horse and helped her friend onto the horse. Tima was still clearly nervous as the group started out on the run. The two women headed up the back while Jouno and Atem ran side by side and two guards ran in front of them. As the run continued, Tima watched Atem and could not get over how different he looked without his ornaments and with commoner's clothes on. Her thoughts were broken, however, when she heard Kiko said in a teasing way, "I must warn you…when the men rest a bit before returning, they all lose their shirts…including Atem."

Tima immediately blushed at the thought of Atem without a shirt. Her reaction surprised her since she had seen male slaves without shirts before and she did not pay them no mind. As her thoughts continued, her horse suddenly stopped, making her even more nervous. Before Kiko could ask if she needed help, Tima kicked the horse's sides which led to the horse bucking Tima off. Seeing and hearing Tima cry out, Kiko stopped her horse and got off, running to her friend. Atem also heard Tima's cry and turned around. Seeing her on the ground, he broke free from the group and ran to her. "Tima! Are you all right?"

Jouno stopped the group as the two tended to the Hebrew. She tried to wave them off but yelped instead from the cut on her arm. Kiko went to get medical supplies from the main horse as Atem helped Tima sit up. "Are you all right? Does anything else hurt?"

Tima looked up to answer him but froze at the sight. Atem looked even more handsome than she was used to. He had a few beads of sweat going down her cheek, making him glisten. His already tanned skin had darken just a bit under the sun. But what got Tima's attention the most was that he was blocking the sun, making him look like he had a halo. Tima could not believe how breathtaking he was…nor could she believe that she was blushing deeply at him. Worried that she did not answer him, Atem waved his hand in front of her face. "Tima? Does anything else hurt?"

Tima woke up from her trance and shook her head, still blushing. "No…just the cut."

She hoped that Atem would not ask about her blushing. He wanted to but Kiko came back with medicinal cream and some bandages. Atem stayed with the girls as Kiko put the cream on the cut and wrapped Tima's arm with the bandages. Once she was done, Kiko asked Tima, "You okay now?"

Tima nodded and looked at her bandaged arm. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Atem sighed with relief and stood up, helping both of them up. "Glad to hear that. I can't have anyone getting hurt under my watch."

Tima blushed a little more and nodded. Just then, one of the guards pulled Tima's horse over to the group and Tima hid behind Kiko. "I'm not getting back on that thing."

Atem wanted to coax her but Kiko held up her hand and went to the horse. Stroking its muzzle, the Cetria leaned her forehead into the muzzle and started to glow a light bluish-green light. Tima's eyes widened as Atem smiled and explained. "She's using Cetria magic." Seeing that he had Tima's attention, he continued, "You remember me telling you some suns ago that Kiko is a Cetria? Well, her people believe that the planet is united by one force called the Lifestream: it lives everywhere, in the plants, animals, and people. She is able to tap into the Lifestream and listen to the voices of everything around her."

Tima listened as she continued to watch Kiko. Soon the blond pulled away and looked at Tima, still stroking the horse's muzzle. "She'll let you back on but you must trust her. She stopped because she sensed how nervous you were and that got her nervous. Plus, she asks that you don't kick her sides anymore."

Tima did not know what to verbally say to that. But she nodded and walked up to the horse, relaxing her body. Kiko helped the brunette get back on the horse and Tima stroked the horse's neck. The animal relaxed to the touch, making Kiko smile. "All right! We can continue!"

Atem nodded and continued to run with Jouno with the girls following them on their horses. Kiko kept peeking at Tima to make sure that she stayed relaxed and then noticed that they were coming up on the resting point. The blond grinned. "Hey, Tima. I wonder…how long can you last when…Atem takes his shirt off?"

Tima blushed at the thought of it. But her face showed that she was confused about her feelings. The reaction resulted in Kiko giggling.

Minutes later, they came to the resting point. Tima slid off her horse and got a water sack for Atem. However, her attention was diverted to Jouno and Kiko: Jouno once again tried to flirt with Kiko and Kiko turned him down in a harsh and yet friendly way, making Earthzina and Nayru chirp with humor at them. Keeping her eyes on them, the brunette started to walk to Atem with a water sack. "Those two are so interesting."

Atem overheard her as he took off his shirt and smiled. "They always are."

Tima turned to face him and saw his well-toned chest. She then had the most unexpected reaction that anyone expected: she fainted. Atem quickly caught her as the two blonds quickly went over to the brunette's side. Unaware to the humans, Tarra started to laugh, confusing Nayru and Earthzina. The two asked the lightening phoenix what was so funny and all Tarra answered with was, _What did Tima see before fainting?_

The two phoenixes put the pieces together and joined Tarra in the laugh as Tima was revived, a little dazed and confused. "What happened?"

Atem continued to hold her, wanting to make sure she was all right before letting her stand. "You fainted. Are you all right?"

Tima looked at Atem and blushed deep red as she saw how close she was to his handsome, well-toned chest. Atem looked at Kiko and Jouno. "She might be sick. Maybe we should head back."

Tima stood up and shook her head, still blushing. "No, I'm fine. Don't stop the run for me."

Atem tried to convince her that her health was more important than his run but she would not hear of it, insisting that she was fine. All the while, she was blushing and trying to not look at Atem's chest. After a minute of convincing, Atem accepted that Tima wanted the run to continue and, after they drank their water and gathered everything together, they set out again. The whole time, Tima kept her head down, trying to hide her blush. Kiko noticed her friend's reaction and started to suspect.

A fortnight came and went and Tima felt very odd. She knew that she was not sick; she already had Kiko and another doctor check her out so she knew that this odd feeling was something else. That afternoon, she was walking around the palace, looking for Atem so she could attend to his needs. Along the way, she ran into Kiko. "Kiko, have you seen the Pharaoh?"

Without realizing it, Tima had a very small blush on her face as she mentioned Atem. Kiko noticed this and smiled. "Why are you blushing?"

Tima touched her cheeks and immediately went redder. "Oh! I don't know."

Wanting to tease her but wanting to help her as well, the Cetria asked, "Are you all right? You've been acting weird since that run some suns ago."

Tima thought back to the first run she helped out with. In doing so, she blushed again as her thoughts moved to Atem being without a shirt. Looking up, she saw Kiko grinning. "What?"

The blond kept grinning. "You like Atem, don't you?"

Tima did not understand the implying in Kiko's words so she answered, "Of course. He is the Pharaoh and I'm supposed to admire him."

Kiko shook her head. "No, I mean you LIKE him."

Tima looked away, hating that she seemed to have a permanent blush on her face. "Kiko, that's not it." Then, before she could control herself, she murmured, "Besides, that's an impossible thing to feel."

Kiko heard her and demanded. "Oh, is it? And why is that?"

Tima peeked at Kiko. "Because he's the Pharaoh…and I'm a slave."

Kiko blinked at that. "So?" Tima tried to give her reasons (social status and it not being tradition) but the blond Cetria cut her off by saying, "Atem is really nothing more than a man." Seeing that she had her friend's attention, Kiko continued. "Sure, the people here treat him as god-incarnate since that is the culture here. However, he's still a man, not a god, and does not like to be held on that high pedestal. I know he's told you this. So, if he's a man like any other man…doesn't that mean he's allowed to be with someone out-of-class?" Seeing Tima dumbfounded, Kiko smiled and turned. "Just don't give up." With that, the blond left.

Tima stood in the hall for a while, thinking about what Kiko said. It was true that Atem did not hold himself high and mighty because the people did and Tima did like that about him. But did that mean that she liked him in that special way? She had no experience with such emotions so she was very unfamiliar with what she was feeling. Plus, she still believed that such a relationship would not be allowed so she saw no point in indulging in a fantasy. However, she could not deny that Atem had an impact on her and her mental/emotional welfare. As she continued to think, her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Atem. "Tima?"

Tima looked up and saw that Atem was coming up to her with Roxanna clinging to his arm. The young Pharaoh was ignoring the Greek and said to Tima, "There you are. I've been waiting for you."

Before Tima could answer, Roxanna chirped up, "If she's not doing her job, she needs to be punished."

Atem gave Roxanna a look, especially when Tima's head lowered in response. "I've told you many times: I don't believe in punishment like that."

Tima looked up and said, "I can be of service now."

Atem smiled at her (making Roxanna jealous) and suggested, "You can join Roxanna and I in our walk through the gardens."

Tima nodded. Roxanna was not thrilled since she did not want a slave to be around her and Atem. But Atem had the last word so the black-haired girl was stuck.

When they got to the gardens, Tima gave the couple some space, to Atem's dismay, and Roxanna hugged his arm tighter. "It is so lovely here. Don't you think so?"

Atem shrugged a little. "I suppose. Don't forget, I'm used to this garden."

Roxanna got in front of Atem and batted her eyelashes at him. "Well, let's look at it in another way."

Atem gave her a blank look. "How?"

Roxanna was getting a little annoyed but kept quiet; instead, she got close to Atem and gave him a sexy look. "You…me…alone…"

Just then, a small cry interrupted them. Tima had been picking flowers and cut her finger on a thorn. Seeing this, Atem thanked the gods for this diversion and excused himself from Roxanna's side, going to Tima. Roxanna could not believe it: Atem, the Pharaoh and her betrothed, had just left her for a slave. She stood there dumbfounded as Atem took Tima's finger. It was a small cut but there was blood coming out of it. Tima smiled a little and tried to take her hand back. "I'm fine. Just…not used to the flower."

Atem kept a hold of her finger as Tarra swooped down and landed on his arm. _Allow me, my Pharaoh._

Atem nodded and offered the phoenix Tima's finger. To the women's surprise, Tarra shed a tear on the cut and the scratch was healed. Roxanna was impressed but Tima was a little nervous at first. "Is this magic?" Her tone showed her fear since magic was considered evil to her religion.

Atem shook his head. "No, it is the phoenix's special ability. A tear from a phoenix can heal even a life threatening wound."

Tima listened in amazement but then jumped when she heard a female voice in her head. _Do you think of me as evil?_

Tima looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Roxanna raised her eyebrow, wondering if the Hebrew was going crazy, as Atem put his hands on her shoulder. "Relax. You heard a voice in your head, right?" Tima wanted to ask how he knew when he smiled and explained, "That was Tarra. She can project her thoughts to a person whom she deems trustworthy."

Tima looked at Tarra with wide eyes. Tarra tilted her head and her eyes sparkled, as if she was smiling. _Hello, Tima._

Tima nodded. "Hi…"

Now insulted for being ignored and for Tarra choosing Tima over her to trust, Roxanna stormed off to sulk. Atem noticed her walk off and mentally shrugged; it was more of a relief. Turning back, he saw that Tima wanted to pet Tarra but was hesitant. He nodded. "It's all right. Go ahead."

Getting his permission, Tima touched Tarra's head. The phoenix immediately cooed and then leaned in more as Tima started to scratch. _Ohh! Right there!_

Tima let out a giggle and kept scratching the spot. "Right there?"

Tarra acknowledged, making Tima giggle again. Atem smiled at the two females and then noticed something unusual. 'Strange…whenever I'm around Tima, I feel…at peace…no other person has ever made me feel this way.'

Her itch relieved, Tarra went to Tima's shoulder and started to nuzzle her cheek. Tima smiled brightly and touched Tarra's head. "Oh my! You're very welcome, Tarra." Looking up, she realized, "Where did Mistress go?"

Atem shook his head. "Don't know and don't care."

Tima looked up at him. "What do you mean, you don't care?" She then blushed. "I'm sorry, it's not my place to ask."

Atem looked at her and decided to come clean to her. "It's all right, Tima; you would have found out eventually. Forgive me for being straightforward but…I don't give a damn about her. I mean, how would you feel if you had to marry someone against your will?"

Tima blinked a little. "It happens in my culture. We have a lot of arranged marriages."

Atem accepted that answer but still wanted to know, "But be honest, how would you feel?"

Tima thought for a moment and answered, "I wouldn't like it."

Atem nodded and looked away. "That's exactly how I feel. I don't want to be in a commitment if I'm not going to be happy." He then smirked half-heartedly. "Ironic, isn't it? Not even the Pharaoh can have a say on who he spends his life with." Seeing Tima look upset for his current situation, he smiled. "Enough on that. Keep me company before I have to return to my duties."

Tima nodded and followed him. Tarra took off to fly through the skies, giving them a little privacy. Tima peeked at Atem and tried to hide her blush. "If I may…who do you want to spend your life with?"

Atem smiled as he thought. "I just want someone who I can understand and who can understand me, someone I can trust and can trust me." He then sighed, as if he momentarily checked out. "I'm probably asking for too much." Before Tima could respond, he asked, "Did you like the flower you picked?"

Tima nodded and looked at the rose. "Yes. But I didn't like the thorns."

Atem chuckled. "They say that something so beautiful grows thorns to protect itself from those wanting to harm its beauty."

Tima nodded. She then asked, "Can I get you anything? I am your servant after all."

Atem was about to say no when he thought of something. "Walk with me."

Blushing a little, Tima nodded and started walking with him through the gardens. After a minute, they came to a bench and Atem sat down. Tima kept standing, making Atem smile. "You don't have to stand all the time. Sit next to me." Tima tried to say that she couldn't but Atem looked at her. "It's okay. Please…I insist."

Tima blushed but sat down. Atem smiled. "That's better."

Tima looked at his smile and blushed. She could see how handsome he was but brushed it away since she was his servant. Atem stretched his back as she asked. "Am I doing okay?"

Atem nodded. "Yes." He then murmured, "You're fine as you are."

Tima blushed deeply as Atem continued. "I asked you to spend time with me because there's something I have wanted to ask for some time but I just never got around to it." He looked at her and said gently, "If it's all right, I would like to know more about you."

Tima blushed deeply and blurted out, "Why?"

Atem chuckled; he remembered that Roxanna's family never cared about their servants. "Well, for one thing, I always want to know the people I am with, who they are and their background. Also…I want to know about you so that I know you are comfortable in the palace here. I don't wish to have you offended by our ways." Seeing her shocked look, he said, "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

Tima was shocked but in a good way. She then nodded. "It's all right. What do…you want to know?"

Atem asked the first thing on his mind. "How about your parents?"

Tima immediately teared up, making Atem feel guilty. "Oh…I'm so sorry…"

Tima tried to brush it off but the tears kept coming down. Reaching into his cape, Atem pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her. Tima did not notice his offer so he reached over and wiped away her tears, smiling gently. "You know, Tima…a girl with cute eyes like yours should never have tears coming down."

Tima blushed deeply; no one, especially her owner, had ever said she had cute eyes. Atem nodded gently. "You don't have to talk about it if it's too upsetting."

Tima took the handkerchief and fiddled with it. She then started to explain her story. Her caravan had followed what she called the Bright Star towards their homeland when they were ambushed by bandits. The men stayed to fight them off while the women and children ran off. As she started to remember, Atem put his arms around her to comfort her. Tima leaned into the embrace and started to cry. Atem held her close for a while until she settled down. When she did, she realized where she was and pulled away, thinking that this was not allowed. Atem was disappointed that she pulled away but wanted to know more about her story. "How did you survive?"

Tima took a deep breath and continued. She had played dead until the bandits finally left. When she got up, she realized that she was the only survivor. It was heartbreaking to find her parents' bodies. Atem rubbed her back as she added, "Yet…I could not find my sister."

Atem was surprised. "You had a sister?"

Tima nodded. "An older sister, Yima. We didn't really get along…but it would have been nice…to find her."

Atem nodded. "So how did you get to Greece?"

Tima smiled. "It was an accident." She went on to say that she wandered for a while until she reached a port. After thanking God, she managed to hide in a cargo section of a ship. She managed to stay hidden for a few days until she was found by a crewman. He wanted to have his way with her since she smuggled herself onto the ship. However, the captain took pity on her and kept her in his cabin until they reached Greece. There, he gave her some money and let her go. However, the money was not a lot as she ran out after a few days. She managed to survive then by stealing food until she found a passage through a wall. Feeling herself being called to go through it, she did so and found a food storage room. She stayed there for a month until Lapidos found her and brought her to Hypatios and his daughter Roxanna. Stunned that it was not a rat that was eating their food, Hypatios wanted to severely punish her but Roxanna thought it would be better to have Tima as a slave. It took a bit of Roxanna's charm to get Hypatios to agree. Tima then sighed. "Now I'm grateful to be here…especially since it was hard over there."

Atem nodded. He hated Roxanna's family for the abuse they put their slaves, especially Tima, through. He then asked, "What made Roxanna decide to give you to me?"

Tima shrugged. The truth was Roxanna was tired of having Tima around and wanted someone else to take care of her. "Maybe God wants me here for a reason."

Atem thought about that. He was still not used to Tima's religion, since he was used to a ton of gods instead of just one. But he did not want to offend her so he said, "Maybe so. Maybe your God has a higher plan for you."

Tima nodded as she put her hand down to adjust her back. She did not realize that her hands was on top of Atem's until his hand turned around and held hers. They looked at each other and both blushed. It was as if time slowed down for them. Tima was frozen. 'I don't know why…but I can't stop staring. His eyes…so serious and yet…so gentle…'

Atem did not understand why his hand moved on its own but he was grateful. 'Such cute eyes…eyes I never want to see tears in again…'

Both moving on their own, they started to lean towards each other. The gap got closer and closer until Tima's brain screamed at her to stop since this was not allowed. She leaned back and stood up. "I'm sorry, Pharaoh…I shouldn't have done that…"

She started to leave but she did not look where she was going until the Egyptian cobra bit her leg, causing her to cry out. Atem quickly threw a dagger at the snake, killing it, as Tima collapsed to her knees. The snake did not bite too deeply but it was enough to get some venom in it. Atem ran to her side. "Are you all right?"

Tima winced a little. "I…"

Atem immediately went to her leg. "Hold still." He lowered his head and, like with Mahad, started to suck out the poison. Tima blushed and touched his shoulder. "Please, Pharaoh, you mustn't do this. My life isn't worth yours."

Spitting out some blood, Atem looked at her, feeling déjà vu. "Your blood is red; so is mine. You need to live; so do I. Now stay still so I can get all of it."

He continued to suck out the poison until he could taste nothing but the iron in her blood. Just then, by luck, Kiko passed by with medical supplies, since she was putting away items that were used earlier, and ran to them. "What happened?"

Atem stood up and wiped his mouth. "Tima was bitten by a snake but I got the poison out." Seeing and hearing Tarra tell him that Seth was looking for him for the daily meeting, Atem asked Kiko, "Can you take over from here?"

Kiko nodded and started to put medical cream on Tima's bite. "Snakes in my garden again! Damn! How do they keep coming in?"

Tima did not answer; she was too busy looking in the direction where Atem walked off. He risked his life to help her, a servant. Not only that but she started to remember that he always wanted to keep her comfortable and happy and always defended her against other servants and Roxanna. Tima felt her heart squeeze and figured out why: she was falling for Atem. She then cursed herself silently. 'Of all the people to fall for…why for someone I can never be with?'

After Kiko wrapped up Tima's leg, she helped her up and led to their room. "You are resting for the rest of the day."

Tima started to protest. "But…the Pharaoh needs me…"

Kiko shook her head and laid her down. "Nope, you need to rest after that bite. Don't worry, he'll agree with me."

With that, she left. Tima sighed, knowing that Kiko had her mind set. Laying under the blanket, she started to sing a prayer in her native tongue that she sang every day, asking for blessings. Little did she know that Atem (who was passing by to check on her before the meeting) was listening outside. He froze, almost in a trance, and listened. Even though he did not understand the words, her voice was enchanting. He then felt his heart squeeze and looked at the door. "Tima…" He started to wonder, what was she to him? Just a slave…or something else?


	6. Fourth Month - The Start

Chapter 6

Fourth Month - The Start

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

Atem woke from sleep and sat up. He sighed and held his head. "What is going on with me?"

He knew that he was to marry Roxanna in two months. However, he could not stand her; he tried to get to know her and hated what he learned. But that was not the only thing that he was curious about: he was constantly thinking and dreaming about Tima. Why he did, he did not know, especially since most of his thoughts were of her just looking at him as if wanting to ask him something. Whenever he asked her to be open with him, he always woke up. He looked up and, seeing the sun starting to come up, got up and started to dress for his morning run. He started to remember that Tima would help and froze for a second. He then sighed and continued to dress. "I need to figure this out…"

In her room, Tima was stretching her legs. She wanted to actually run with Atem and Jouno this time. While she had gotten used to riding her horse (whom she named Sarah), she had wanted to be closer to Atem in any way that she could. She then sighed and looked out the window. It had been a full month since she realized that she had feelings for Atem. It was a struggle for her because she knew that Atem was betrothed to Roxanna and tradition/custom stated that royalty could only marry royalty. She told herself that every day but her feelings only grew. "God…give me strength to get through this."

Seeing the sun starting to come up, she left the room and started to head down to the staples. She hoped that she would not be late. However, she ran into Lapidos, who looked at her. "You're up early."

Tima nodded a little. "The Pharaoh runs every morning. I'm going to him now."

Just then, she heard a familiar female voice. "Atem gets up at this awful hour?"

Tima looked behind Lapidos and saw Roxanna sticking her head out from her room. This was a surprise to Tima since Roxanna never woke up until the sun was almost at its peak. "Mistress…"

Lapidos looked at Roxanna and reacted in surprise. "Lady Roxanna, if I may, what are you doing up?"

Roxanna groaned and rubbed her eye. "Couldn't sleep…been thinking about Atem…"

Remembering that she had to meet up Atem and the group at the staples, Tima turned to head to the staples. Seeing this and needing someone to vent to, Roxanna stepped out and tripped Tima. Lapidos looked away, wanting deep down to help Tima, especially when her knee got scrapped from the trip, but he knew better than to stand up to Roxanna. Roxanna squatted down and looked at Tima. "Did I give you permission to leave?"

Tima winced at her scrapped knee but still shook her head. "No…but…"

Roxanna smirked. "And did I give you permission to speak? It seems that you have forgotten your place with Atem taking care of you like he has."

Tima blushed a little. Roxanna did not notice but Lapidos did. He silently wondered why Tima was blushing when Roxanna sat next to Tima. "I don't know why Atem keeps you around. You are so troublesome, clumsy, pathetic, and (not that it matters) not much to look at. So why does it prefer your company over mine?"

Tima lowered her head. She had almost forgotten about Roxanna's verbal abuse. She always talked down to the servants when she was alone with them and they could not say anything because no one believed them since Roxanna always denied the accusations. The Greek chuckled and shook her head. "I still have a hard time believing it: Atem, my husband to be and the most powerful man in Khment, giving you attention and not me. I mean, I am the daughter of the most powerful politician in Greece and you're nothing. How does that work out?"

Seeing that Tima was getting hurt from the words, Lapidos stepped in to answer. "I do not know, my lady."

Roxanna nodded and yawned. "Mm…well, the wedding is in two months so I will make him spend time with me. I'll tear down the wall that's surrounded his heart and he and his wealth and power will be mine." She then yawned again and rubbed her eyes. "But later. I need to sleep."

Tima helped Roxanna up, keeping her head down. "Sleep well, Mistress."

Roxanna lifted up Tima's head with her finger and looked at the Hebrew. "Enjoy the company of the Pharaoh. Once he's mine, he'll never leave my side." With that, Roxanna went to try to sleep.

Tima lowered her head again once she and Lapidos were alone. "Why? Why must we endure her abuse?"

Lapidos sighed softly. "We should be grateful. She saved us from her father…"

Tima's head snapped up, showing her tears. "And she treats us horribly. It's not right." She then remembered the run and realized that they must have started without her. She turned and ran to the stables. Watching her, Lapidos sighed again. "What can two servants do to change this?"

Tima rode her horse out of the staples. She was ignoring the stinging pain that her scrapped knee was giving her and wiping the tears from her eyes. She knew that she looked like a mess and she did not want to see Atem like this. However, she knew she had to help with the run, even though Roxanna's verbal bullying still rang in her head. Just as she shook her head to try to forget them, she saw the group at the first rest stop. She raced up to them and slid off Sarah to her hands and knees, whimpering a little at her scrap. "Pharaoh, I'm so sorry!"

Atem blinked in surprise. When she did not show up, he assumed that she slept in and decided to let her sleep. He went up to her and bent down to her level. "Tima, look at me." When she peeked up, he picked her up and smiled. "There's no need to be afraid, all right? I'm not upset."

Tima looked at him, trying unsuccessfully to suppress the blush that was slowly rising on her face. "But…I'm very late."

Atem shook it off as Jouno smiled from where he was. "One of the guards wanted to go find you but Atem told him no, to let you sleep."

Tima now could not hide her blush. Atem was not only not mad, he defended his assumption? She almost told Atem the truth but then remembered that she and other slaves tried to turn in Roxanna for her abuse in Greece and were brushed aside. Mentally sighing, she nodded. "Yes. I…slept in today. I'm sorry."

Atem raised his eyebrow; seeing her actions, he did not believe her. "Then why are you crying…and why is your knee scrapped?"

Tima looked down and noticed that her knee was starting to bleed. She then looked away. "I tripped…when I saw how late I was."

Kiko started to come forward to demand that Tima tell the truth but Atem held up his hand, stopping the Cetria. He then got close to Tima and whispered, "Did Roxanna do this to you?"

Tima peeked at him. Her face clearly showed her deception as she responded, "She…"

Atem started to hate Roxanna all over again. He could not stand her treating the servants bad but he could tell that Tima got the bulk of the bullying. That alone made his blood boil as he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped her eyes, smiling softly to hide his anger. "As I said before, Tima, a girl with cute eyes like yours should never have tears coming down."

Tima smiled sadly. Atem then looked down at her bloody knee. "Now we need to fix that."

Tima tried to say that he did not have to worry about it when he nodded to Kiko. Kiko came forward and quickly lifted Tima's knee a little. Now having a perch, Tarra landed on Tima's thigh and shed a few tears on the wound, healing it. Tarra's eyes sparkled at Tima as the phoenix nuzzled her. _There. We don't want you to get hurt now, do we?_

Tima smiled and hugged the phoenix so she could put her leg down. She then looked at Atem. "Have you gotten water yet, Pharaoh?"

Atem nodded. "But I think Sarah need some."

The brunette smiled and nodded. Letting Tarra go, she went to get water for the horse. While she was doing so, Kiko looked at Atem. "You know that Roxanna did something to scrape her knee, right?"

Atem nodded. "Of course. What I don't understand is why Tima is defending her."

Kiko shrugged a little. "Who knows? Maybe that's what she was taught to do." She then looked at Atem. "We need to get rid of that Greek bitch."

Atem nodded. "I wish we could. But we're stuck with her and you know what could happen if we send her back."

Kiko groaned but had to agree. Like the rest of the court, war was the last thing she wanted. She turned to suggest something when she noticed Atem's look. He was looking at Tima, who was now giggling with delight as Sarah was nuzzling her as thank you for giving the horse water. He seemed at peace and wanted to help her. Tapping his shoulder to get his attention, she took a gamble: "Atem, this may be bold but…I can't help but hear the voices of the Planet and they're telling me that you have feelings for Tima."

Overhearing them, Tarra flew to Atem's shoulder. _She's not the only one who has noticed._

Atem blushed a little and wanted to say that maybe Kiko was wrong. However, he remembered that he tried that line once in the past and got a lecture from the Cetria about how the Planet never lies. Feeling the stare of Kiko and Tarra, he sighed and looked at Tima. "Let's just say…she's caught my interest."

Kiko immediately started to grin. "Oh really? Your interest?"

Atem did not want to go more than that since he still did not know how he felt about his personal servant. Thankfully, Jouno announced that they were ready to continue the run. The Pharaoh hoped that Kiko would not bring up the subject again. In a way, he got his wish because Kiko never brought it up again but he spent the rest of the day wondering about how he felt about Tima. His thoughts only grew stronger at dinner. Not knowing his problems or his fury towards her bullying the Hebrew, Roxanna prattled on and on about the upcoming wedding. Atem did not listen to her and only reacted when Tima came in to refill their wine. He smiled at her. "Thank you, Tima."

Tima smiled and bowed her head. That sent a tingle of jealousy down Roxanna's spine. Atem would not even acknowledge that she, his betrothed, was in the room talking about their big day but he gave his attention to Tima, a lowly slave? She looked away from Tima when the brunette refilled her glass but, when Tima turned to return to the kitchen, the Greek quickly stuck her foot out, tripping Tima. Tima landed on her hands and feet but did not get hurt. That's when she realized that she did not have the jug of wine. Fearing the worse, she slowly looked up and saw her worse fear: the jug landed on Atem, covering him with wine. Another servant hurried over and started to wipe off the wine as Tima cowered at Atem's feet. "I'm so sorry! I beg your forgiveness!"

Roxanna had a very small but very dark smirk on her face. Not knowing but suspecting that Roxanna tripped Tima, Atem noticed the dark smirk and glared a little before turning to Tima and speaking to her in a gentle tone. "Tima…get up off the floor."

Tima slowly obeyed but kept her head down until Atem reached over and made her look at him. "No need to be afraid. It was an accident, nothing more." Tima wanted to protest but Atem held up his hand, stopping her. "No buts. You are human and accidents happen. Now can you get me some more wine?"

Tima nodded and hurried off to help him. Thanks to Roxanna bullying her earlier, she was worried that he would snap at her. Atem stopped the servant who was cleaning his shirt, stating that he would wash before bed, as Roxanna looked at Atem. "Are you sure she shouldn't be punished? I mean, she did stain your shirt." Atem shook his head so Roxanna continued. "Atem-darling, surely something like this should not go unpunished."

Atem gripped his goblet and stared at her with a cold, hard stare. "Roxanna, it is different here. I would have suspected that you would have learned that during your four moons here. Here, we do not punish servants for accidents such as that…nor do they cause bodily harm to them for no reason."

Roxanna raised her eyebrow, noticing that he did not call her "Lady Roxanna." "What are you talking about?"

"When Tima arrived at our resting point, she had a scrapped knee. She said it was from tripping…but her demeanor clearly showed that someone hurt her, both physically and emotionally." His eyes narrowed as he said, "If you do not learn to respect others and stop tormenting the servants, you are not meant to be Queen material."

Atem did not know if the rest of the servants were being treated as badly as Tima but he figured that he could stand up for all of them with that statement. With that, he stood up from his chair. "Now if you will excuse me, I shall retire."

Roxanna watched him, stunned that she was scolded by him. Tima, peeking in from the kitchen, was surprised to see Atem so upset by this. But she did like it, feeling her heart swell.

The next morning, Atem woke up a little groggy. He had a hard time sleeping the previous night since he was still very upset at Roxanna for treating Tima horribly and since Tima occupied his mind all night again. He groaned and clutched his head. "Tima…why do you own my thoughts?"

As he rolled out of bed and started to change into his running outfit, he heard a knock at the door. Suspecting it was a servant, he finished dressing and said, "Enter!"

To his disgusted surprise, it was Roxanna, dressed in a short dress. "Good morning, Atem!"

Atem's eyes grew wide with shock. "What are you doing up so early?"

Roxanna grinned. "I'm going to run with you."

Atem could not believe what he was hearing. The one time of day where he did not have to worry about running into Roxanna and here she was at his door, proclaiming that she would run with him. He stood up and started to go to the door. "Roxanna, I mean no disrespect but do you want to have a little more sleep?"

Roxanna rubbed her eye, trying to hide the fact that she was exhausted. "No. As your future wife and queen, I should go with you."

Atem wanted to protest but it was clear that Roxanna was going to be stubborn. He only hoped that everyone else would be able to handle her.

At the stables, Kiko was fuming when she saw Roxanna there with Atem. Jouno was mentally cursing and glaring as Tima was preparing Sarah to be ridden. She could not believe that Roxanna was up and wanted to run with them. Like Atem, she saw the run as a time to be away from the horrible Greek woman. Roxanna put on her fake happiness mask, even though she was starting to regret her decision; she hated "unnecessary" exercise such as this and she hated being surrounded by servants. "This is going to be a wonderful run, don't you think so, Atem-dear?"

Atem's eyebrow twitched at the nickname. He knew that she was trying to be sweet to him, especially after his scolding yesterday. "With due respect, Roxanna, have you ever ran like this before?"

Before she could stop herself, Tima snickered; she knew that Roxanna had never ran a day in her life unless she was late for an appointment. Thankfully, her back was to Roxanna so the Greek did not see who laughed. After looking around to find the source of the laughter, Roxanna recovered and nodded. "Of course I have."

No one believed her, even if Tima had not snickered. Atem looked at Kiko and mouthed 'help me.' Kiko grinned and stepped forward. "Then show me your thighs." Roxanna blushed and opened her mouth to protest but Kiko continued, "If you are a runner like you claim, then your thighs will show that. Besides, as the future queen, you must be able to keep up with Atem."

Roxanna looked at Atem, hoping that he would defend her. But he smirked, mentally thanking Kiko, and looked away from Roxanna. "If a woman is not in proper shape for me, then it's not worth it for me."

Jouno agreed. "Damn straight, 'Tem. Who wants a girl who's out of shape?"

Roxanna blushed with anger. She did not like the accusation that they were giving her, even though they were almost right; while she was not completely out of shape, she was no runner. Seeing that, Kiko got on her horse and directed it towards the door. "Ready when you are, Atem."

Atem broke away from Roxanna as Tima got on her horse as well. "A beginner should not start out with a vigorous run. Maybe you can start with running around the palace. For now, you can go back to sleep." With that, they left Roxanna standing in the stables, stunned that she was denied something she wanted and caught in a lie.

Once they were away from the stables, Jouno laughed. "Thank the gods! We got away from the bitch!"

Atem laughed, also relieved. "You really hate her, don't you?"

Jouno nodded as they continued to run. "Of course! We all do!"

Before she could stop herself, Tima blurted out, "I don't blame you."

The humans smiled with pride and the phoenixes chirped happily: Tima finally let out her feelings about Roxanna. They knew that this was a big step for her and were very happy. Atem was especially happy since he knew that Tima had it rough with Roxanna's family. Jouno noticed Atem's look and, remembering Tima always blushing around Atem, knew that he had to ask at the resting point.

While Tima and Kiko were watering their horses, Jouno approached Atem with a few rags. "'Tem, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Atem took his rag and started to wipe off his sweat. "Yes, what is it?"

"That was pretty cool, you and Kiko getting rid of Roxanna like that."

Atem chuckled as he took off his shirt to dry his chest. "Of course. This is the only time of day where we're safe from her. I wish there was a way to get rid of her completely."

Jouno chuckled, taking off his own shirt. "I got a suggestion: find someone else."

Atem gave him an amused look. "And where am I supposed to find a woman of royalty in the next two months?"

That statement made Jouno turn serious. "Who says she has to be royalty?"

Atem blinked at Jouno, neither expecting that question nor the look on his face. "Well, it's taboo…and tradition…"

Jouno sighed. "Who gives a damn if it's tradition? Love is love. As long as the girl makes you happy, you should be able to be with her, whether she's a princess or a slave."

Jouno did not know about Atem's mind being owned by Tima but Atem peeking at Tima gave it away. The blond captain followed his look and smirked. "Ah…so you have your eye on Tima."

Atem blushed and slapped Jouno's chest with his rag, making the blond laugh. "Jouno, don't put words in my mouth."

The blond shrugged. "I call them as I see them. But you have my blessing." Before Atem could protest, Jouno cut him off with, "Call it a feeling: I think she's the real deal and I say that without knowing her that well. Just give her a chance." With that, he went to Kiko to both get water and flirt.

Atem finished drying himself off and watched Tima laughing as Kiko pushed the water sack in Jouno's face to deny his flirts. The Pharaoh sighed; he still did not fully understand how he felt about his slave. All he knew was that he never wanted to see her sad again, wanted to protect her, and wanted her to always smile. He also knew that everything she did, whether it was her emotions or her actions, affected him. No one, not even his closest female friends Kiko and Mana, affected him as Tima did. He only hoped that he could find a name for this mystery.

After they came back and Atem had bathed and clothed, he started to head to his daily meeting. Seeing Tarra fly to him, he smiled and offered his arm as a perch. "Nice to see you up, Tarra."

Tarra cooed and nuzzled his head; she had a hard time sleeping the night before so Atem let her sleep in. _Thank you, Pharaoh. Have a good run?_

Atem paused for a moment, thinking about the talk he had with Jouno. Tarra noticed that and was about to ask him to explain when they heard Tima singing from the gardens (she had given him privacy for his bath and lost track of time). Feeling as if he was under a spell, Atem stood at the entrance of the garden and watched Tima, who did not notice him because her back was to him. This song was very different from the prayer he heard last month: this song was powerful in its delivery and almost mournful in its message. While he did not understand her language, he could feel himself being pulled into the song, as if he was transported to another world. He could feel the pain and sadness behind the music but there seemed to be a glimmer of hope there as well. He could not believe it: not even his best entertainers could move him like this. Not only were her words hypnotizing, her dances were enticing. The way her hips shook, her body twirled, and her hair flashed, her body seemed to be one with the song. Atem could only whisper, "Tima…"

Towards the end of the song, the song became more mournful than the rest. If her voice did not convey the sad emotions, the tears falling from her eyes did. Atem's breath was taken away, still hypnotized and almost forgetting that Tarra was on his arm. After a beat, Tima started to sing the chorus of the song. Tarra looked at Atem and got a big surprise: he had tears coming down his cheeks as well. A little worried, she nuzzled him. _Atem?_

Atem woke up a little as Tima ended the song on her hands and knees, trying to catch her breath. Atem noticed the tears and touched them in surprise. He looked at Tima, who looked up and noticed him standing there. She saw his tears and thought it meant a bad thing so she got up and started to run but Atem stopped her. She paused but did not look at him. "Forgive me…I should have not have done that…"

Atem cupped her chin and lifted her head. "Don't apologize. That song touched my heart."

Tima's eyes widened in surprise, making Tarra laugh. _We didn't understand the language but your voice had him hypnotized and moved to tears._

Tima noticed his tears and wanted to wipe his tears away with her handkerchief that she kept wrapped around her wrist. Recognizing it as the handkerchief he gave her when she told him her life story, he took it from her and wiped her eyes. Tima blushed deeply at his actions and found herself leaning in close to him, her body moving on its own. Atem noticed her actions and stayed still, allowing her to do so. However, she took his stillness as not wanting it and pulled away. "I'm sorry…you're my owner…I can't do that…"

Atem was about to ask her to explain when she turned and ran away. The Pharaoh stood there in disbelief. "Why did she run away?"

Tarra looked at Atem. _She seemed to want to do something._

Atem looked at his phoenix and wiped away his tears with the handkerchief. "Yes…but what was that?"

Tarra had a theory. _Maybe she wanted to kiss you._

Atem blushed bright red and started to leave, intent on leaving Tarra behind but the phoenix continued to follow. _What? What did I say?_

Atem continued to ignore her and, unfortunately, that meant that he was not paying attention to where he was going. He ran right into a female servant who was carrying a bowl of recently mashed grapes. His shirt became covered with the goop and the servant paled. "Pharaoh, I am so sorry!"

Atem waved it off. "It's all right. I wasn't paying attention. It's not your fault."

The servant sighed with relief and asked, "Shall I change your shirt?"

He shook his head and started to leave. "I can do that. But do send Tima to my room with some wine." He wanted to talk to her about the song.

When Tima came to Atem's room with a goblet and pitcher of wine, she entered, assuming that he was in the bathing area. Alas, he was in the room and was changing his shirt. The Hebrew turned around and saw him frozen, caught with his new shirt in his hand. She immediately got down on her hands and knees. "Pharaoh, please forgive me! I did not mean to come in unannounced!"

Settling his blush, Atem put on the clean shirt and went to her. "Tima…" Seeing her waiting to be punished, he sighed. "No need for you to act this way. Stand up."

Nervously, Tima stood up but she kept her head down. She was blushing madly and was afraid that it would show all. Atem reached over and cupped his chin. "Look at me."

Tima adverted her gaze, still nervous. After a minute, though, she looked at him and saw that he was more concerned than mad. He smiled softly and reminded her, "Stop thinking that I will harm you. I'm not like Roxanna, praise the gods."

Tima had to smile at that, making Atem's smile widen. "That's better but we need to break you of this habit. Can you think of anything that can help you remember?"

Before she could stop herself, she blurted under her breath, "Kiss?"

Atem saw her lips move but did not hear the words. "What was that?" When Tima did not answer, he asked again, "What was that you said?"

Tima took a step back, her lips sealed and tears starting to form. Her feelings were starting to come out but she still believed that it could never happen. 'I can't tell him…I can't…'

She turned to run away but Atem quickly yet gently grabbed her arm. "Tima…stop running away."

Tima turned and look at him, making Atem freeze. The look on her face was the same face that he always saw in his dreams. After biting his tongue to determine that he was not sleeping, he knew that he would finally get the answer. "What is it?"

Tima took a deep breath. "Permission to act freely?"

Atem was a little confused by the question, not expecting it, but he still nodded. Seeing the nod, Tima quickly hugged him. Atem froze again: she was hugging him. Feeling him freeze, Tima assumed that he did not like what she was doing and started to pull away. That's when he moved in a way that she did not see coming: he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Feeling his strong arms protecting her, tears formed and started to fall as she leaned into his chest. He felt the tears and tightened his hold. "Ssh…it's all right, Tima…" He heard her apologize and started to stroke her hair. "It's all right…I got you…"

Tima cried for a few minutes and then finally settled down. She pulled her head away and sniffled. "I'm so…sorry…"

Atem wiped a stray tear away. "It's all right, Tima. You don't have to apologize." He let her go and led her to the bed. Sitting her down, he got down on one knee so their heads could be level. He continued to wipe her tears away as the look of want came back on her face. But she figured that her luck would not let her have two things she wanted. She lowered her head and Atem sighed. It hurt him when she was so locked up; he wanted to make her smile and could not when she was like this. "Tima…tell me what's on your mind."

Tima looked up. "Why?" Seeing his confused look, she elaborated. "Why do you care about me?"

Atem blinked a little, not expecting her to ask. He still had no idea what the feelings were but he knew that they felt right: he wanted to protect Tima and keep her smiling. He reached up and touched her cheek, making her blush. "You've been through too much. You've been sad since you lost your family, right?" Seeing her eyes lower, he continued, "I want to take away your sadness and have you smile."

Tima looked up and knew that he was telling her the truth as she touched his hand. He smiled. "From now on, Tima…if you have something on your mind, don't hesitate to tell me."

Tima knew that she wanted one thing and sighed. "I can't…you'll never understand…"

She tried to look away but his hand made her look at him, deep in his eyes. "Try me."

Taking a deep breath, Tima decided to tell him by inching forward. Atem saw her and leaned in himself. They kept inching forward until their lips met each other. The kiss lasted for about a minute until Tima's mind screamed at her that this was not right and she pulled away. She was mentally freaking out, thinking she crossed the line, when Atem gently asked her, "Why did you stop?"

She looked at him and saw that he was smiling. He leaned forward and kissed her again, which she responded. But she could not help what came out of her mouth when the kiss broke: "What have we done?" Seeing his confused look, she covered her eyes and lowered her head. "You and I…we're not supposed to…"

Atem put the pieces together. "Be together. Is that what you're thinking?" Tima stayed silent but it spoke volumes. He gently removed her hands. "Tima…please stop this. Stop hiding from me."

Tima did not look up so Atem got an idea. He sat behind her and hooked his arms around her waist. Her head snapped up in surprise as he held her close and started to nuzzle her neck. Tima gasped and blushed but she was still worried. "Atem…we'll get in trouble…I don't want anything to happen to you."

Atem closed in to her ear and whispered, "Forget your worries." Feeling her lean in, he smiled and put his head on her shoulder. "Don't worry about us. We're all right."

Tima nodded and put her hands on his arms. But she still wanted to know, "Why me?"

Atem smiled. "You're different…more than different." He looked at her and continued, "I have never felt this way before…this way that you affect me. From smiling to singing, to your happiness to your sadness…no other woman has had that effect on me."

Tima blushed, feeling her feelings swell. "Tell me…how do you feel about me?"

Atem squeezed her gently and came clean. "In all honesty, Tima…I don't know how to describe the way I feel in words. Whenever I'm around you…I feel as if there was a hole that was filled; you filled that hole. I feel at ease when I'm around you. When you're happy, so am I; when you're sad, so am I. You…mean that much to me."

Tima reached behind her and touched his cheek. "I feel…the same way. I've always wanted to make you happy, even more than a servant should want. The way you protect me, make me feel happy and wanted…you have made my heart go to you."

He smiled sweetly and kissed her again. Tima kissed him back, no longer afraid. When they broke for air, she leaned her head into his neck and then realized something. "What will people say about this?"

That got Atem to thinking and knew that there was a problem: though he had feelings for Tima, he was still technically betrothed to Roxanna and the court might not appreciate the Pharaoh choosing a servant to be with. Tima pulled away to look at him as he said, "I don't care what people say."

Tima was worried still. "But…what happens if they find out? They might try to separate us."

Atem shook his head. "I won't allow it."

Tima then quickly suggested, "Let's keep this a secret."

Atem was surprised that she suggested that. "Tima, do you really want that?"

Tima was surprised at herself as well and thought it over. Was it even possible for them to keep their relationship a secret? She looked at Atem and determined that, even in secret, being with him would be worth it. "Yes. If it means being with you…"

Atem held her close and smiled. He knew that this was probably the right road to travel, at least until they found a way to get rid of Roxanna. They stayed like this for a moment until they heard Tarra (who saw the exchange from the rafters). _I am very happy for you, Atem, but you still have that meeting to attend._

Tima hid her face with embarrassment as Atem looked up at his phoenix. "Do you mind?"

Tarra tilted her head. _Don't shoot the messenger. I figured that it was better for me to say it than someone to barge in and see you two this way._

Atem nodded and let go to Tima. He stood up and put on his cape. He reached for the door when he felt Tima hug him from behind. He smiled and closed his eyes. "Tima…"

Tima smiled. "Thank you…Atem."

Hearing her say his name instead of "Pharaoh" made his smile widen. He turned and kissed her deeply, which she responded to. He then left for the meeting, leaving Tima smiling in his room. While keeping this relationship a secret would be rough, they knew that it would be well worth it in the end.


	7. Fifth Month - Doubts

Chapter 7

Fifth Month - Doubts

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. Also, please be nice to the stuff that Tima goes through; it's based on personal experience.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

Tima sat up from her bed and rubbed her eyes. She saw that Kiko was still sleeping and that gave the Hebrew time to think. The events of yesterday started to play out in her head, in particular the confession and beginning of the secret relationship with Atem. Sighing softly, she wondered quietly, "Did that really happen?"

After Atem left for the meeting, Tima spent the rest of the day and some of the night cleaning the scroll room since a relatively new servant accidentally knocked down the shelves; because of that, she did not see the Pharaoh again so she was starting to wonder if she dreamt it up. She wanted to ask him at the run but she remembered Kiko telling her that they would not be running today. So she decided to ask him when she got him his breakfast; she just hoped that she would not overstep her boundaries. After she dressed, she got his breakfast of bread slices, honey, and grapes, all the while running over ways that she could bring up yesterday. Unable to think of a proper way to ask him, she headed to his room. Once at the door, she took a deep breath and knocked. After a minute, she heard Atem say, "Come."

Taking another deep breath, she entered, closed the door with her foot, and placed the tray on a nearby table. "Good morning, Pharaoh. I brought you your breakfast. I even brought a fruit cup for Tarra."

The lightning phoenix flew to the table and started to eat her fruit. _Thank you, Tima. You're so sweet._

Tima smiled and scratched her feathery head. She then heard Atem speak up. "When am I going to get some love this morning?"

Tima froze a little. Because she still wondered if yesterday was a dream, she peeked at him. He was laying on his side with his arm holding up his head with a smile on his face and the blankets covering his shendyt (kilt) and legs. Tima blushed at the sight of his smile, making him chuckle. "You have no idea how cute you look with that blush on your face."

Tima's blush deepened a little; yesterday was not a dream. "Atem…"

Atem sat up. "Bring my breakfast to me."

She nodded and brought the tray to his bed. He patted next to him and she, assuming what he wanted, set the tray on the same spot. Chuckling, he pushed the tray away a little and patted his bed again. Figuring out what he really meant, Tima timidly sat down next to him. "Is this…okay?"

Atem simply uttered, "Almost…" Tima looked at him to ask what could be done to make it better when Atem leaned forward and kissed her deeply. She moaned softly in the kiss as he slowly pulled away to show a smile. "Now it's perfect."

Tima blushed deeply, making Tarra's eyes sparkle. Atem chuckled and started to eat his breakfast. Tima watched him for a moment until her stomach growled, making her blush again. Atem smiled. "Would you like a bite?"

Tima immediately shook her head. "No, I can't eat your food. I am still your servant, after all."

Atem smiled softly and put his arm around her. "You're not my servant when it's just you and me. When it's just us…you're my special girl."

Tarra chirped in agreement as Tima leaned into Atem's muscular chest, trying to not stare at it. Catching her wandering eye, Atem chuckled and offered her a slice of bread with honey on it. "Like what you see?"

Tima nodded before she could stop herself. She then nibbled on her bread, bushing deeply. Atem laughed and kept eating. "I'm glad."

Tima peeked at him. "You are such a tease."

Atem kissed her head. "That's what I'm supposed to do with my special girl."

Tima smiled, feeling happy with the man who made her happy and at peace. While she knew that they had to act like Pharaoh and servant around others, she knew it would be worth it in the end. When the food was gone, Atem started to rub her back. "I can't wait for the day when we can walk in the sun as a couple."

Tima nodded and looked at him. "At least we have mornings and nights."

Done with her fruit, Tarra pointed out, _But you have to be careful; we don't want to raise any suspicions after all._

Still rubbing her back, Atem stood up and looked at his phoenix. "Don't worry, we know what we're doing. Speaking of…" he leaned forward and kissed Tima's forehead, "The other servants should be here soon to dress me so I guess we need to assume our roles."

Tima nodded and stood up. "Very well."

Atem cupped her chin and kissed her gently. "Thank you for spending breakfast with me."

Tima smiled and left after hugging him gently. Atem watched her until she closed the door. Tarra sparkled her eyes at him. _I'm very happy for you, Atem._ Atem smiled in response.

Later that day, Tima was taking Atem's clothes to be washed. She would have been to the wash room sooner but she constantly hid behind pillars to breathe in his scent from the clothes. "Ah…Atem…"

Just before she reached the wash room, she passed by the tailor's room. Hearing Roxanna's squeals, the Hebrew peeked in with curiosity. Roxanna was going through different fabrics and was holding silk, a fabric the court got from their friends from the Far East. "This is gorgeous! Oh, this has to be the fabric for my wedding dress!"

Lapidos smiled in agreement. "It is a beautiful fabric."

Roxanna nodded and turned to the tailor. "Yes, use this fabric and make it as sexy as possible."

Lapidos raised his eyebrow to that. "As sexy as possible? With all due respect, you don't want to show up on your wedding day looking like a belly dancer."

Roxanna rolled her eyes. "Oh, come now, Lapidos. You know I'll do that on my wedding night. Besides, no man can resist my perfect body." She then got an idea. "Lapidos, when we go back to my room, you're to dig out the sexiest outfits I have."

Lapidos nodded. "It will be as my lady commands."

Roxanna grinned as she looked at the silk fabric. "I'll wear a sexy outfit every day…he'll be putty in my hands in no time."

Hearing enough, Tima went to the wash room and started to do Atem's laundry. However, she was very distracted by what Roxanna said. She knew from witnessing that men could not resist Roxanna when she pulled out all the stops to be sexy. Did that mean Atem would fall under her spell as well? After all, he was a man, as Kiko pointed out a couple of months ago. She lowered and shook her head, trying to get the image of Atem falling for Roxanna out of her head. "No…I'm his special girl. Roxanna will fail…I hope."

The past week was not fun for either Tima or Atem. Roxanna did indeed wear a very revealing outfit when she saw Atem. Seeing Roxanna act like that made Tima's mind torture her even more. She was just waiting for Atem to give in and ravage Roxanna like all the other men. She tried to tell herself that Atem would not because he had feelings for the Hebrew; however, all her mind had to do was remind her that even "committed men" fell under Roxanna's spell. She wanted to ask Atem about how he felt about Roxanna but she was too scared of hearing something she did not want to hear. Little did she know that she was not the only one suffering.

Atem could not stand Roxanna's new attitude. He knew that she was trying to seduce him and he knew that was an impossible feat since his heart belonged to Tima. He wanted to tell Roxanna that but he knew that, once the court heard, they would get rid of Tima and he could not have that. What he could do, however, was tell Roxanna to dress with decency but his words fell on deaf ears. So all he could do was enjoy the times he spent with Tima and ignore Roxanna.

That day, Tima was prepping Sarah for the morning run. She was alone, which gave her mind a chance to torture her with scenes of Atem and Roxanna. She shook her head to get rid of the images; when they did not work, she leaned against the horse to settle herself down. "Oh, Sarah…what am I going to do?"

Sarah nickered a little in response. Tima smiled softly and then jumped a little when she heard a familiar voice: "Anything I can do to help?"

She looked behind her and saw Atem. Since their relationship started, they always met early in the stables to have a few minutes before the run. He went to her and hugged her from behind. "Is something wrong?"

Tima did not want to bring up her mind's teases. "Don't worry about it."

Atem did not believe her. "Tima…"

Tima shook her head. "It's all right. I can handle it; it's a stupid thing and I can take care of it."

Atem was not convinced but decided to trust her. He nodded and kissed her neck. "Very well. But remember…you can tell me anything, all right?"

Tima smiled, feeling her doubts temporarily shrink, and leaned into his embrace. For the few minutes they hugged, it was as if time stood still for them. A minute later, however, Atem pulled away. "They're coming."

Tima whined a little, making Atem chuckle. But she knew they had to do this as Kiko and Jouno arrived. Jouno smirked. "Once again, you two beat us here."

Atem shrugged with a smile while Tima went back to prepping Sarah and did not respond. Kiko giggled. "You two aren't hiding anything from us, are you?"

Tima almost slipped as Atem chuckled and shook his head, keeping cool. "No, not at all."

The two wanted to tell their friends but they knew that Kiko would possibly freak out (in a good but loud way) and Jouno would definitely blab the secret. Little did they know that the blondes already suspected the relationships and were happy for them.

When everyone returned after the run, Atem started to head back to his room with Tima following, both to get his dirty clothes and to spend a few minutes with him. As they trekked, they passed Roxanna's room and the Greek peeked out, her hair wet from her bath. "Why, hello, Atem-dear."

Atem gave her a blank stare. "Morning."

Roxanna then opened the door more to reveal that she was wearing nothing but a towel. Tima's doubts came back tenfold; this was the final bait and the Hebrew "knew" that Atem would fall for it. Atem looked away, blushing uncomfortably. "Roxanna…can you please put on some clothes?"

Roxanna glared a little before turning on the charm again. "What's wrong? After all, we are to marry in a moon's time."

Tima's heart squeezed at the reminder as Atem left for his room. "One should act with honor and decency."

Roxanna was shocked that her greatest flirt did not work. Tima smiled, her doubts temporarily destroyed, as Atem turned his head. "Tima, you coming?"

Tima started to follow him, to Roxanna's disgust. "Wait. How come I don't get to see you privately but this slave does?"

Tima paled a little, trying to think of a good answer, when Atem told Roxanna, "Isn't that what you taught her? To help me during those times? She's merely doing her job."

With that, the Pharaoh and his personal servant continued, making Roxanna quietly growl. As she started to head back into her room, she saw Tima's smile and paused. The Hebrew looked happy…a little too happy. The Greek started to get suspicious: was there something going on that she did not know?

Tima was currently gathering Atem's dirty clothes while he bathed in the other room. After the clothes were together, she sat down on the bed, intending to wait for Atem. After a minute, however, she felt her body move to the door and peek through the opening. Atem was getting out of the bath and had a towel around his waist. Tima blushed a deep shade of red at the sight. His muscular body, his tan skin, the water glistening…he was a vision of beauty to the Hebrew. She kept looking until he turned his head and smiled while saying, "Come join me."

Tima blushed deeper but walked in. Atem turned around, still smiling. "Peeking in on me, were you? I should punish you for that."

Tima pushed her hair behind her ear shyly as Atem wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back, especially when he added his tongue to the kiss. She shuddered with delight; she felt she was in heaven with his muscular, wet body against her and his addicting, spicy taste. As he lowered her to the floor, he pulled back and gave her a loving look. "Tima…"

Tima closed her eyes to enjoy his hand on her cheek and his voice saying her name. However, his voice grew louder and a little concerned. She opened her eyes to see him sitting next to her. "Dozed off?"

Tima sat up and blushed extra red. She had imagined everything; she never left the bed! Atem smiled. "You were smiling in your sleep…in bliss, actually. I'm a little jealous."

Tima did not speak; she was still in shock both at how far her fantasy went and at how realistic it was. Atem hugged her from behind. "I hope I was a part of that fantasy."

Before Tima could respond, Tarra from her perch spoke up. _Judging by the look on her face, I think you were._

Tima squeaked a little in embarrassment, making Atem chuckle. "Tarra, leave her alone." He then looked at Tima. "Was she right, though?"

Tima blushed deeper a little more. Atem hugged her tighter. "Don't worry about it. I fantasize about you all the time."

Tima was about to ask Atem about his fantasies when there was a knock at the door and Seth's voice sounded. "Pharaoh? Are you dressed?"

Keeping his arms around Tima, Atem answered. "Not yet. But I will be. Go on without me."

Seth responded with, "Just don't keep me and Roxanna waiting."

When Seth left, Tima looked at Atem. "You're seeing Roxanna?"

Atem kissed her cheek. "Don't be jealous. The court needs her at this meeting to explain Greece's culture and a little of the politics. Plus, it's a way for them to meet her."

Tima scoffed and hugged Atem's arms. "If I may…you're wasting your time in the politics department. She knows nothing, never cared about it."

Atem sighed and got up to dress. "I was afraid of that." Tima stood up and started to dress the Pharaoh, making him smile. "Thank you."

Tima hugged him from behind after he was dressed. "You're welcome…my Pharaoh."

Atem kissed her gently and left for the meeting. Tima sighed gently and got the dirty clothes. Tarra landed on the Hebrew's shoulder and nuzzled her gently. _So you going to tell me the fantasy you had?_

Remembering the fantasy, Tima blushed and shook her head to clear her mind. "No."

Tarra made a whining coo to try to get on her good side. _Come on, you can tell me._

Tima quickly pushed the phoenix off her shoulder and left to clean the clothes. She did not want to be teased anymore.

Later that day, Tima and a few other servants were serving lunches to the royal court. The meeting done, the lunch was a way for the court to meet the girl who was to be their queen in a month. An older servant looked at the others. "Now this is the first and perhaps only time you all will serve the entire court. So I need you to be on your best behavior. Is that understood?"

Everyone nodded in understanding. The servant opened the door and everyone took in the sight of the dining room. Atem sat at his seat at the end of the table and Roxanna sat at the other end of the table. Occupying the six usually empty seats was the royal court. Each of them has a Sennen Item like Atem and were dressed in various fashions, all (sans Seth in his blue) with cream-colored clothes and gold decorations. On the right sat Priestess Isis, the only female in the Royal Court and the bearer of the Sennen Tauk, Seth with his Sennen Rod, and Priest Shada, the only Priest with tattoos and bearer of the Sennen Key. On the left was Priest Aknadin, the oldest and bearer of the Sennen Eye, Priest Kalim, the strongest physically and bearer of the Sennen Scales, and Mahad, Atem's closest friend after Seth and bearer of the Millennium Ring. Shimon, the royal advisor, was not there because he was feeling ill. Roxanna was secretly happy for that because she did not like Shimon, seeing him as an old fool who needed to leave her sight. Tima caught the eye of Atem, who winked at her. Seeing the servants with the food, Roxanna sighed with relief. "Thank the gods. I was getting hungry."

Atem murmured, "And I'm sick of you."

Thankfully, no one heard him as the lunches were handed out. Roxanna took hers and gave Atem a flirty look. "This smells so good, right, Atem-dear?"

Atem shuddered mentally and did not respond. When Tima gave him his lunch, he smiled up at her. "Thank you, Tima. This looks delicious."

Tima smiled and tried to suppress the small blush that threatened to appear on her face. Roxanna bristled a little that Atem was ignoring her and giving attention to a slave. She wanted to trip her again but knew that she could not as long as the Hebrew was on the other side of the table so the Greek turned to Mahad and started to talk to him about her country's deities. Tima watched Roxanna out of the corner of her eye and her mind gave her another reason to doubt: Roxanna seemed to be getting along very nicely with the royal court and seemed to fit in with them. That was probably from her upbringing and her family. As for Tima, she was a simple Hebrew peasant turned slave; in other words, she knew that she did not fit in as Roxanna did. Did that mean she was not the one for Atem? The idea depressed her; after all, her heart belonged to him but what about her upbringing? Would that hinder their relationship?

Tima and the other servants soon left, Tima feeling more depressed than ever. She was beginning to question if the relationship was even worth it since Roxanna could fill royalty shoes better than she, a peasant/slave, could. Would Atem lose interest because of that? The very idea terrified her, yet seemed plausible. Because of that, her mind tortured her for the rest of the day.

When she went to see Atem later that night, Tima played it like nothing was bothering her. Setting down a tray with a goblet of wine, she asked, "How did it go?"

Atem groaned. "Don't ask."

Tima looked back at him. "That bad?"

Atem nodded softly and stood up, stretching his back."The only one that girl managed to charm was Aknadin. Then again, the old man is steep in traditions and was the one besides Seth who really pushed for me to marry Roxanna in the first place."

Tima gave him the goblet and then asked, "What about the rest of the court?"

Atem kissed her cheek, making her blush, and explained, "They did not have to tell me. I could tell by the looks on their face and their attitudes: they did not like her."

Tima lowered her head. "I see…"

Setting the goblet aside, Atem hugged Tima close, wanting to forget about the lunch. "Soon, my sweet…soon I shall show them that you are better suited for my heart and life."

Tima smiled in the hug. But she did take note that he said nothing about being involved in the politics. Did that mean that she really was not ultimately for him? She did not want to think of that so she hugged him a little tighter. Atem took note of the tightening and asked, "Are you all right?"

Tima quickly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm all right."

Atem looked at her and wondered if she was telling the truth. Tima managed to hide the pain she was feeling with a small smile. Trusting her, he kissed her gently. Tima smiled softly in the kiss, hoping to stop her mind from torturing her with the doubts.

Towards the end of the month, Atem was worried about Tima. Ever since Roxanna met the royal court, Tima seemed to be bothered by something. He always tried to get her to open up to him but she always told him that she was not bothered by anything. However, he knew better by how she acted, distant and rundown. Not only that, Kiko had told him that Tima had taken to going to bed depressed and having more nightmares than before but refused to tell the Cetria why. He wanted to ask her that day but he was stuck in an all-day meeting over a border dispute so he decided to ask her before they went to bed.

When the meeting ended, it was so late in the day that Atem headed straight to dinner. He was not thrilled to see Roxanna there but he knew that he was stuck with her. Roxanna smiled her flirty smile. "Hello, Atem-dear. I missed you today."

Atem took his seat and simply said, "Good evening."

Roxanna stiffened a little as Tima came out with the dishes. Atem looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Tima. That smells really good."

Roxanna twirled her hair a little in an annoyed way and spoke up. "Atem-dear, why do you give more attention to her than me?"

Tima froze a little, nervous about how Atem would answer. The Pharaoh calmly said, "I treat my gifts with honor and respect."

Roxanna would have normally accepted such an answer but she was still very suspicious. "She's not going to become one of your concubines, is she?"

Tima stiffened a little at the question. She knew that Roxanna had every right to ask such a question since the Greek's father was very fond of concubines and it was rumored that he had a different one every month. Atem raised his eyebrow a little. "What's a concubine?"

Roxanna immediately sighed with relief. "Good, I'm glad."

Atem washed his hand and started to eat. "I still want to know. What's a concubine?"

Taking a sip of her wine, Roxanna explained, "It's a woman that you're involved with romantically without marriage."

Both answering Roxanna's question and telling Tima his beliefs, Atem answered coolly, "I would never do that. Once I am in a relationship, all my attention and love is on that woman."

Roxanna smiled sweetly. "Wonderful to hear."

Atem shuddered mentally. Tima smiled as she started to head back to the kitchen. She was glad to hear what Atem said. 'Glad to hear that you and I believe the same thing.'

However, as soon as she turned the corner, she froze. One of her religion's commandments was "do not have adultery." While she and Atem did not move into the physical part of the relationship, was this still a sin since Atem was technically engaged to Roxanna? While she was wondering if it was, her mind tortured her with another idea: maybe Atem was like Roxanna's father, not really keen on just one relationship. She combat that piece of torture by remembering what Atem said not two minutes ago. However, her mind continued to torture her with the idea that she was committing a sin and, therefore, was to be condemned. She leaned against the pillar and tried to calm herself down but that proved to be an impossible task. "Maybe…I can still get on God's good side again…" She decided to try that night.

Atem was preparing for bed and waiting for Tima to come by. When she did not, he stuck his head out to look for her. To his luck, she was passing by to go to bed. Atem smiled. "There's my special girl."

Tima looked up and already felt her resolve crumble: her idea was to stay away from Atem until her feelings disappeared. But one look at his face and she knew that her feelings would probably never go away; however, she did not want to be condemned. She tried to walk past him but he hooked his arm around her waist with a smile. "Wait. I think you're forgetting something."

Tima closed her eyes, her feelings of being torn clear on her face. Atem grew concerned at that. "Tima, what's wrong? And don't tell me nothing this time."

Tima broke away and looked at him. "Atem…I want to…but…" Afraid to explain, she ran for her room.

Atem stood there for a moment, wondering what just happened. He felt hurt that Tima pulled away but he was more concerned because she acted like she wanted to but could not for some reason. He returned to his room for a moment and got a torch. "Tarra, I shall return."

Tarra nodded as Atem went to find Tima. He did not have to look for long; he heard her crying in her and Kiko's room. He wanted to burst in to comfort her but he heard the girls talking and decided to listen in. Tima spoke up first between sobs. "Kiko…I don't know what to do…I feel so confused."

"Well, what is it? Does it have something to do with Atem?"

"Do you know…?"

"I have to be honest: Jouno and I have suspected for some time." Atem blushed a little, not realizing that the blondes already knew, as Kiko asked, "So tell me, what's wrong?"

Tima sniffled. "Well…I'm starting to wonder…if this is worth it."

Hearing enough and feeling a little hurt, Atem opened the door. "Kiko, will you excuse us?"

Kiko nodded and left but not without saying, "Don't worry. My lips are sealed and I don't think that dumb blond guard has fully figured it out."

Atem smirked as he and Tima were left alone. Tima was blushing at being caught and looked away. Putting the torch with the other, Atem got down on one knee before her and took her hands. "Tima…please…talk to me."

Tima sniffled a little. "I…"

Atem squeezed her hands a little. "Tima, don't shut me out. I want to help you feel better. So please…my special girl…talk to me."

Tima peeked at him and asked, "Is this relationship…worth it?"

Atem nodded and smiled. "Of course it is. Why would it not be?"

Tima lowered her head a little. "A lot of reasons…"

"List them off and I'll combat that."

Tima peeked up at him. "Roxanna's body…"

Atem shuddered a little. "She's a slut. A woman should not dress that provocatively ever, let alone every day like she tried. Besides, I was not interested in her in the first place; those clothes gave me more reasons to not like her." Tima smiled a little, making Atem smile. "Any other reasons?"

Tima fidgeted a little. "Roxanna fits in more with the court…with her upbringing…"

"I told you, they do not like her because of her attitude. And upbringing has nothing to do with it; if anything, she should have behaved better since she came from a powerful family and should have had more of an interest in politics, even if no one outside the court is ever involved with political affairs."

Tima nodded; she knew that Roxanna was a brat who needed to behave and she herself felt better that her lack of knowledge in government was not a worry. Atem smiled, thinking that Tima's doubts were over. However, she refused to look at him so he cupped her chin and made her look in his eyes. "Is there something else?"

A tear fell down her face. "I'm afraid…this is a sin."

Atem raised his eyebrow to that. "A sin? How?"

Looking away, she explained, "A commandment in my faith is that I should not commit adultery. Isn't this adultery?"

Atem knew what she was talking about; she had told him all about her faith during the early months of her being his slave. Smiling softly, he leaned forward and kissed her gently before saying, "Normally, you would be right…if I were in a relationship with Roxanna but I am not."

Tima looked at him. "But…you're engaged to her."

"For political reasons, not for love, all right? Because of that, I do not consider myself to be in a relationship with her. She might think we are but it is one-sided. So fret not: I am not in a relationship with her…I am in a relationship with you and you alone."

Tima smiled, feeling her doubts wash away completely. All the tortures that her mind put her through could not hurt her anymore. Atem kissed her again with a smile. "Feel better?" Seeing her nod, he got up and turned to get the torch. "Good. Now don't leave me hanging like that again or I'll really have to punish you."

He said it in a teasing away and Tima knew that as she hugged his waist. "All right, Atem. I won't do that again."

Getting his torch, Atem kissed her again before retreating to bed. Kiko returned a minute later and tackle-hugged Tima. "I'm so happy for you! I knew it!"

Tima shushed her by covering her mouth. "Keep it down. We're still waiting for the right time to announce it."

Kiko removed the hand to reveal a grin. "Well, you better do it soon before Jouno hears about it and blabs it to the wrong person."

Tima grimaced and shuddered at the thought. But the shudder ended up making both girls laugh before going to bed.

Two evenings later, Roxanna was trying to calm herself down. Earlier in the day, she found a pair of sandals with black feathers in the gardens. She took it as a sign of the god Hermes that he was trying to tell her something, even though it was really a stray pair of sandals that Itami happened to be under while cleaning her feathers. Roxanna talked to Lapidos about what the message could have been. He told her that he thought it meant that Hermes was telling her that he was protecting her. However, Roxanna thought it meant something bad was going to happen. After a few more minutes of thinking, she came to a decision: she would go back to the gardens and see if she would get another sign from Hermes.

Soon she came to the gardens and did not see a sign; she saw something even more disgusting in her eyes and hid in the dark to watch. Atem and Tima were there, with Tima currently sniffing the roses. Atem smiled. "You like the roses?"

Tima nodded. "Yes, Atem. They are beautiful."

That struck Roxanna as unusual and worrisome: why would Tima call the Pharaoh by his birth name? But what made her more sick is what came out of Atem's mouth: "Not as beautiful as you."

Roxanna gripped her fist so tightly, her hand bled, as Atem picked a rose and put it in Tima's hair. Tima smiled and blushed. "Atem…don't you think we should wait? Someone might see us."

Unaware that someone was seeing them, Atem hooked his arms around her waist. "I doubt it. No one comes around here after Ra goes to sleep. So we're fine."

Tima smiled and touched his cheek. "I'm glad."

They kissed gently, infuriating Roxanna to no end. She could not believe that her betrothed would choose a simple slave over her, let alone the slave that the Greek gave him in the first place. As she watched the couple hug, something snapped in her mind: her dark side woke up and she came to a decision: "The bitch must die…"


	8. From Pain Comes Realization

Chapter 8

From Pain Comes Realization

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

With the wedding two weeks away, Atem was preparing to tell Roxanna that the wedding was off. He knew that she would be devastated because his power and wealth would not be hers; he also knew that he should have done this as soon as he and Tima got together but knew that he did not because he was nervous about the reaction of the Court. Now that he knew that they did not like Roxanna, he thought that he would be able to tell Roxanna now and have their support. Speaking of Roxanna, he did notice that Roxanna was acting strange; she was still flirty with him but she appeared hurt at the same time. She also seemed to be glaring at Tima every chance she got. Tima did not seem to notice since she was too busy being happy with Atem. He was really happy as well and, because of that, he planned to tell Roxanna in the morning. But he had no idea what Roxanna's plan was for that morning.

That morning, Tima work up extra early. She liked to spend as much time as possible with Atem, especially since he told her the night before that he had something important he wanted to talk to her about. If he had told her this a month before, her mind would have teased her all night with the possibility that he would tell her that he wanted out of the relationship. But, since he took her doubts away, she did not think that way; she only wondered what the subject was. As she started to stretch, there was a knock at the door. Curious and wanting to let Kiko keep on sleeping, the Hebrew went to the door and opened it a crack. Who was on the other side was a great surprise to her. "Mistress?"

Roxanna smiled softly. "Good morning, Tima. Can I speak to you?"

Looking at her, Tima was a little nervous with what Roxanna was wearing. She was wearing a one-shouldered red dress that went down to her knees and had a gold belt on it. For accessories, she had bracelets on each wrist, a gold tiara across her forehead, and knee-high, gold sandals. The Greek had often bragged that she would only wear the outfit when she had to invoke drastic measures but she never went into detail about what she meant by that. But, assuming that Roxanna was wearing it to appear attractive to Atem, Tima walked out of the room and closed the door. "Yes, Mistress. What would you like to talk to me about?"

Roxanna smiled some more and hooked her arm in Tima's. "Not here. Why don't we go to my room? We can have a drink there to reward you."

Tima was shocked beyond words: her former owner wanted to have a drink with her, a slave? In Greece, the idea was so out of the question that it was laughable. "Reward me?"

Roxanna nodded and pulled away to fully look at the Hebrew. "Of course. Throughout my stay here, you've been so good to the Pharaoh, have not caused him a hard time, and have been very obedient to him. I knew I made the right choice to give you to Atem-dear."

Tima could not believe what she was hearing. Looking at Roxanna's dress, the Hebrew wondered if the change in attitude was the drastic measures for the current situation. "All right."

Roxanna nodded and gestured forward. "Then come."

Tima smiled and started to follow the Greek to her bedroom. With her back turned to Tima, Roxanna's face contorted to a dark smile; her plan was coming together.

In Roxanna's bedroom, the girls were greeted by Lapidos refilling Roxanna's wine pitcher. Tima thought nothing of it because this was a regular practice with Lapidos: Roxanna had often said that she could not start the day without a taste of wine. Roxanna smiled. "Thank you, Lapidos. You can wait outside; this won't take long."

Lapidos nodded in obedience and went to stand outside. Going to the pitcher to pour the wine, Tima noticed a blue box next to the pitcher. She recognized it as a box that Roxanna never went anywhere without, even though her father did not like whatever was in it. Roxanna sat on her bed and saw Tima staring. "You like the box?"

Tima blushed a little and started to pour the wine. "Forgive me for staring…"

Roxanna brushed it off. "Don't worry about it."

Tima peeked at Roxanna and smiled. Maybe all of Atem's scolding and denial of her flirts made her turn over a new leaf. After pouring the wine, the Hebrew started to offer the Greek a goblet but Roxanna shook her head. "Not that cup. Give me the other one."

Finding that a little odd, Tima shrugged and gave Roxanna the other cup, keeping the original. "Mistress…forgive me but…is this all right?"

Roxanna raised her goblet with a little smirk. "Of course, Tima." She then looked like she was reminiscing. "You know…Atem-dear is not only a great Pharaoh but a great teacher as well. If he had not scolded me all those times, I would never have learned how to truly respect someone. I'm very grateful for that."

Tima smiled and raised her goblet as well, believing what Roxanna was saying. "To the Pharaoh."

With that, Tima started to drink the wine. Because of the angle, she could not see Roxanna's evil smirk forming as she drank her own wine. As she kept drinking, Tima felt some goop from the bottom and swallowed it, thinking it was mashed up grape that slipped into the liquid. But, as soon as she swallowed it, she knew that something was wrong. The goop tasted like parsnip and, when she looked into the goblet, it looked green. Getting nervous, she murmured, "What is this?"

Roxanna set aside her goblet, her evil smirk broadening. "A special blend…"

Tima grew pale as she set her goblet down. When she did, she accidentally knocked down Roxanna's box, opening it and revealing the plant known as Poison Hemlock, which was the same color as the goop that was in Tima's goblet. Tima could not believe it: Roxanna has just poisoned her! Almost panicking, the Hebrew looked at the Greek, who chuckled darkly. "It's your own fault. If you had been a good slave and known your place, I wouldn't have had to revert to drastic measures. I mean, did you really think I would not find out about the two of you? It's beyond disgusting…the Pharaoh choosing a slave over me. Well…with you out of the way, he'll be all mine."

Tima gripped the table a little, feeling her fingers and toes growing cold. Chuckling, Roxanna turned her head and called Lapidos back into the room. Entering, he saw the plant and Tima's look and put the pieces together, growing very pale. "My Lady, what have you done?!"

Roxanna shrugged a little and took another sip of her wine. "I win. Now that I've sentenced her to death, I'll have Atem-dear all to myself."

Lapidos could not believe what he was hearing and seeing. The Roxanna he knew and watched grow up might have been a brat (even he would not deny that) but she was no murderer. She did not even like talking about prisoners and criminals being executed even if they deserved the punishment. He shook his head in disbelief. "Lady Roxanna…"

Roxanna stood up and walked past Tima, who was down on her knees because her feet were completely numb, to lay down on her bed. "Please put the trash back in her room, Lapidos; we need to make it look like she committed suicide."

Tima looked up at Lapidos, her eyes pleading for help, and the Greek picked her up. "My Lady, we need to get her medical help or she'll die!"

Roxanna looked at Lapidos with dark eyes. "And this affects me how? Now do as I say." Lapidos was about to protest again when Roxanna glared at him darkly. "Take her back to her room or I'll have your head on a plate."

Lapidos took a step back, both scared for his life and scared of the person that Roxanna had turned into. Feeling like he was bound to serve her, he started to take Tima to her room. Scared out of her mind, Tima looked up at him. "Lapidos, please. You have to save me. I can't die."

Lapidos' face clearly showed that he was conflicted. He wanted to help but he also did not want to disobey Roxanna in fear of his life. By the time they returned to the room, Kiko had already left for the stables and Tima's hands started to tremble as a result of the poison. "Lapidos…please…"

Lapidos closed his eyes and lowered Tima onto her bed. "I'm sorry…" With that, he left the room but he stopped outside the door. Was he doing the right thing? He knew that he needed to follow Roxanna's demands but he did not want Tima's blood on his hands. As he was trying to figure out what to do, he heard Tima start to moan in pain. That worried Lapidos even more: after all, it usually took an hour to get this kind of response; Roxanna must have given her a strong dosage. Lapidos thought for another moment and then remembered a question that Tima asked a few months ago: "Why must we endure her abuse?" Lapidos lowered his head, feeling like he had been brainwashed by Roxanna's family. He always told himself that things would be worse if he was not serving the family but he knew that was not true. Plus, he knew that Roxanna was not acting like herself and he could not let her get away with this. Making his decision, he turned around and went back into the room. Tima looked up in pain. "Lapidos…"

He scooped up the Hebrew in his arms. "We need to get you to a doctor."

Tima nodded as her lower arms and legs start to hurt and her upper limbs started to go numb. As Lapidos started to run to find a doctor, Tima started to pray. 'Lord, please…forgive my sins…I ask for your help…I don't want to die…but, if I do…let me see Atem…one more time…'

Unbeknownst to Tima or Lapidos, a small, white orb emerged from Tima's hand and took flight.

At the staples, Atem was looking for Tima. The group was ready to start their run but Atem wanted to wait for Tima. She never showed up for their little meeting before the run and Kiko said that the Hebrew left before she did. "Where could she be?"

Jouno shrugged a little. "Maybe she's making us breakfast for when we get back."

Kiko shook his head. "I don't think so. She always tells me whenever she's either making a special dish or not running with us."

Atem agreed. Besides, she never missed their private times together. Getting more worried, he started to leave. "I'm going to go find her."

Tarra chirped in agreement. She had been trying to contact Tima all morning and could not. Jouno gave a little whine, for he really wanted to run. Kiko smacked him upside the head. "Knock it off. She could be in trouble."

Jouno rubbed his head. "Only because you're the one who hit me will I not hit you back. But come on; I'm sure she's fine."

Earthzina looked up. _Wanna bet?_

The humans and phoenixes looked up and saw the orb of light hanging above Atem's head. When he reached up to touch it, his Sennen Pendant reacted with a glow and the orb became a white feather. What was alarming was that the feather had the aura of a Ka. Atem's eyes widened as a vision hit him: Tima suffering on a bed. Tarra gently tapped his temple. _Are you okay?_

Atem did not answer; he just took off running for the palace, with Tarra close behind him. Jouno tried to stop him but did not get to him. "Pharaoh!" Turning to Kiko, the Head Guard asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Kiko shook her head. "I don't know but I'm going to find out." With that, she and Nayru left, leaving Jouno and Earthzina behind. Jouno held up his hands in confusion. "What do they know that I don't?"

Earthzina suggested, _Why don't you go find out? That servant the Pharaoh is close to could really be in danger._

Jouno still did not think so but decided to listen to his phoenix and started to head back to the palace.

Forgetting that he was in his running outfit, Atem ran around the palace, trying to find Tima. The vision did not show him which bed she was in and she was not in her room. Fearing the worse, he headed for the hospital wing. By that time, Tima's arms and legs were shaking and she was clearly in pain. Lapidos was working with the doctors, trying to keep the Hebrew warm and wiping away the salivation. He looked up and saw Atem and Tarra there. "What happened? What's wrong with her?"

Lapidos got nervous about the Pharaoh's reaction but he had to own up to it. "My Pharaoh…she's been poisoned."

Atem's eyes widened as he felt like a crushing blow had just struck him. Seeing her suffer like this, he felt like his life had been shattered like a piece of pottery. Tarra's heart broke as well; she really liked Tima and she knew that her healing tears could not heal internal wounds when the poison was swallowed or inhaled. Seeing Atem's face, Lapidos lowered down to a bow. "Forgive me, my Pharaoh! Lady Roxanna put a poisonous plant in Tima's drink! I had no idea what she was doing!"

Atem did not respond or even look at him; he simply went over to Tima. Her eyes were closed but her face showed how much pain she was in. It appeared that Death was simply waiting for the right moment to take her. He lowered down to his knees to get in front of her face as Lapidos looked up. "My Pharaoh…"

Atem murmured, "Out."

Lapidos stood up, a little nervous. "My Pharaoh, I…"

Atem quickly rose to his feet and turned to Lapidos. He was full of rage towards Roxanna and his Pendant reacted, glowing and giving him the Sennen Eye on his forehead. "OUT!"

Lapidos ran out in fright, running into Kiko and Nayru and Seth and Itami. Seth demanded, "What is going on here? Why is the Pharaoh shouting?"

Lapidos lowered his head. "His slave has been poisoned…by my Mistress."

Seth was shocked but still a little confused. After all, Tima was nothing more than a servant; why should that make Atem react in such a way? Kiko and the two phoenixes were stunned. Itami growled, _I knew that bitch was trouble!_

Kiko looked at Lapidos. While she was scared for Tima's life, she thought that maybe she could make an antidote for whatever plant was used. "Lapidos, think: what kind of plant was it?"

Lapidos told her to wait and left before coming back with the box. Thankfully, Roxanna was still sleeping so he managed to slip in and out without detection. "This is the plant. My people use it to execute prisoners."

Seth snorted. "Prisoners? That girl is nothing but a common slave."

Itami tapped Seth's temple. _She's more than that. Open your eyes for a moment._

Seth glared at her as Kiko opened the box and paled at the sight of the Poison Hemlock. Nayru squawked in surprise. _Oh, no…_

Lapidos looked at Kiko and asked, "What's wrong?"

Seth looked at Kiko and then at the plant. While Tima was nothing but a slave in his eyes, he could tell that Atem was suffering emotionally from her sufferings. "Well? Can you make an antidote?"

Kiko slowly shook her head. "No…there is no cure for the White Death."

Seth turned Kiko around. "What are you saying? You always have a cure in your head."

Nayru shook his head as Kiko explained. "There is none for this plant. When my people find this plant, all we can do to keep someone from being poisoned by it is burning it. I'm sorry…"

Seto was disappointed to hear that as he peeked in. Atem was holding Tima's shaky hands and Tarra was on the bed, nuzzling her head. Atem looked like he was heartbroken, catching Seth's attention. Atem seemed to be a little too close to this slave. He excused himself from Lapidos and Kiko and entered the hospital wing. Hushing Itami, he decided to watch for a moment.

Atem was stroking Tima's hand. She did not respond thanks to the shaking. "Tima…"

Hearing him, Tima opened her eyes and gave a weak smile. "Atem…"

Atem's heart broke; he did overhear Kiko saying that there was no antidote for the poisonous plant that she ingested. She winced at a wave of pain and looked up. "Atem…I…I'm sorry…"

Atem squeezed her hand. "Ssh…don't speak…it's not your fault…please, rest…"

Tima turned her head into the pillow. She felt like a fool, trusting Roxanna like she did. She groaned again, making Tarra nuzzle her head again. _Tima…_

Tima's body curled up at another wave of pain. Atem lowered his head onto her hand, feeling tears threatening to spill. 'No…she can't die. I can't have that…I…I…' It was at that moment that he realized his feelings for Tima: he loved her. He loved her so much that the thought of losing her was too much to handle. Taking her hand in both of his, he lowered his head even further and started to pray quietly. "Gods…hear my plea. Do not take her away from me. I beg you…take my life instead. Please…I love her."

Said too quietly for anyone to hear, he looked up and started to stroke her hair. Seeing enough, Seth came forward. "Pharaoh, can I speak to you?"

Atem sighed, not startled that the High Priest was there. "Seth, now is not the time."

Tarra nuzzled Tima's head as a surge of pain passed through the Hebrew's body. _Can't you see she's dying?_

Atem winced at the thought. "Tarra, don't say that."

Seth sighed and shook his head. "Itami, go to Tima. I need to speak to the Pharaoh."

Itami flew over to Tima and started to nuzzle her shaking arm. Atem did not want to leave Tima but Tarra's eyes sparkled at him. _Don't worry. We'll be with her._

Atem took a deep breath and went to Seth. "What is it?"

Seth took Atem to the corner of the room. "I don't mean any disrespect but what are you doing? You're getting broken over a servant girl."

Atem looked at Tima. "She's not just a servant girl…she's more than that."

Seth raised his eyebrow to that. He suspected what Atem was talking about but he wanted to hear it. "My Pharaoh…what are you saying?"

Atem sighed; he knew he had to tell Seth in order to get him on his side before he told the entire Royal Court. "Seth…I am in love with her."

Thanks to Itami nuzzling Tima's head, the Hebrew did not hear his confession. But Seth did and he was livid. "No…you cannot be serious!"

Atem glared at Seth. "It is true. I love Tima more than anything in my life."

Seth shook his head in disbelief. "How can you do this, Pharaoh? You know you need to marry Roxanna to keep us from warring with Greece!"

Atem shook his head back. "I did not ask for this to happen but it has. All we can do is accept this…"

Seth blew up on that, temporarily forgetting that he was talking to the Pharaoh. "Accept this? You're risking throwing your kingdom into war with a powerful nation because you could not honor the commitment that you were given! And for what? A simple peasant slave? You know that you can't be with her! They are beneath us!"

Atem looked away and tried to ignore Seth's yells. After all, Seth had a right to be upset since Atem was risking a war to be with the one he truly loved. But when Seth said that he could not be with Tima because she was a slave, the Pharaoh glared at Seth and said without thinking, "Then I guess Kisara never meant a thing to you! If you can be with Kisara, I can be with Tima!"

Growling loudly in anger, Seth grabbed Atem by the neck and pinned him to the wall, intent on punching him. Atem braced himself for impact but it never came: Itami quickly flew over to Seth and gripped the fist, freezing him. _Seth, don't do it! He didn't mean it! Don't hit the Pharaoh!_

Seth stood still, trying to catch his breath. Opening his eyes, Atem breathed a sigh of relief that Itami stopped Seth and then realized what he said. "Seth, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to go there."

Seth let go of Atem's neck and straightened up, his head lowered so his eyes were shadowed. Kisara was a foreign peasant that Seth took in as a slave about a year ago after he saw how horribly the villagers treated her because of her light-colored skin, white hair, and blue eyes. After having her around for a few months and realizing that she was the same girl he rescued from bandits when he was young, they became romantically involved secretly. However, their relationship was not to be; one day, a group of Nubians attacked the kingdom. In the midst of the battle, Seth was attacked and his Ka could not get to him in time but Kisara, who slipped out because she was worried about him, took the hit for him. Because the wound was so deep and Itami could not get to her in time, Kisara died in his arms. Seth never fully recovered from that loss; he merely shut it away, which is why he erupted the way he did when Atem said what he did. Atem took a step forward, worried about his comrade/friend. "Seth? Are you all right?"

Seth merely mumbled, "Do what you want," and left, keeping his head down. Itami looked at Atem as she flew out. _I'll talk to him._

Atem nodded; he felt guilty that he stooped that low with that statement. But Tima's groans of pain and comments about not being able to see reminded him of why he was so upset. His heart breaking again, he laid down against her back and held her for a good hour. Her condition continued to worsen; Death was just waiting for the right moment. During the hour, the Royal Court tried to stop by to see why the Pharaoh was in the hospital wing but Kiko, who was standing guard at the door so Lapidos could go and try to not raise suspicion with Roxanna, kept them out. Atem was grateful to that; he did not want to be disturbed. But there was one visitor who refused to leave after Kiko tried to tell her that Atem was fine and just needed to be alone. "Come on, blondie. Just let in your future Queen now."

Atem's skin bristled at the sound of Roxanna's voice. Sitting up, he stroked Tima's cheek and told Tarra, "Keep an eye on her."

Tarra nodded. _Atem…don't go overboard. Save that for the trial._

Atem nodded and, after wiping his eyes to look somewhat presentable, opened the door to look at Roxanna, who brightened up at the sight of Atem. "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere."

Kiko growled silently as Atem crossed his arms. Roxanna raised her eyebrow a little. "What's wrong, Atem-dear?"

Atem immediately snapped, "Do not call me by my name! You have no right! I know what you did to Tima, daughter of Apep!"

Roxanna raised her eyebrow again to the title he called her. Kiko knew exactly what he was calling her: Apep was the god of darkness and chaos to Egyptians. Waving off the insult, Roxanna started to defend herself. "Tima? Why would I do something to a slave?"

Kiko shook her head. "Lapidos told us everything…told us that you poisoned her."

Roxanna immediately shook her head. "I didn't poison her! I'm innocent!"

Kiko shook her head. It was almost sad how pathetic Roxanna looked. Atem growled and narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't have time for this. I know the truth. And, if Tima doesn't survive, which I hope she does, you will be put on trial for murder and the attempted murder of me."

Kiko looked at Atem, surprised that he added the attempted murder charge when Roxanna did no such thing. She then realized why: the murder of a slave had a harsh sentence while the attempted or successful murder of the Pharaoh was punishable by death. Now scared, Roxanna accidentally blurted out, "I'm innocent! I didn't poison her with flowers!"

Kiko and Atem froze at this admission: they got her. Kiko crossed her arms and asked, "If you're so innocent…how did you know how Tima was poisoned?

Roxanna froze as well. She blurted out something that gave away her guilt. Atem turned to go back into the room. The Greek grabbed his arm and he quickly took it back. "Don't touch me…"

Her dark side waking up again, Roxanna tried to tackle Atem but Kiko held her back and called a couple of guards to take her away. They restrained her and Atem calmly told them, "Throw her into the dungeons…for the attempted murder of the Pharaoh."

The guards bowed in respect and took the screaming Greek away. Atem went back in the room and closed the door. Gathering himself, he looked at Tima and paled: she was having trouble breathing; Death was squeezing the life out of her. "No…" He went to her and took her hand, lacing his fingers with her. "No, Tima…please don't leave me…hold on…"

His prayers at first fell on deaf eyes as Tima's breathing became more rapid: she was dying. Tarra let out a sorrowful cry and kept nuzzling her head as Atem started to cry and squeezed her hand a little. "Please, Ra…don't take her…"

Then, all of a sudden, Tima's body started to glow white. Atem and Tarra pulled back in surprise. Tima's rapid breathing slowed a little as an orb the size of a plate emerged from her body. Seconds later, the orb took the form of a humanoid Ka. It was a female with long hair the color of grain and deep, gentle eyes with an equally matching smile. She was dressed in a long-sleeved white dress and golden tiara. But the most telling feature of her were the six wings on her back. Atem could not believe what he was seeing. "Who…"

The Ka smiled up at her and spoke: "I am Seraphita, the guardian of Tima." She held up a vial and Atem took it. "Have her drink this. It will heal her."

Atem looked at the vial. "How? There is no antidote."

Seraphita simply smiled more in response. With that, she reached down and touched Tima's shoulder. The Hebrew glowed so brightly that Atem and Tarra shielded their eyes. When the light finally died, they could not believe the sight. Seraphita was gone but Tima, while still suffering, was breathing normally, as if time was turned back a few minutes before she started to struggle to breathe. Before Atem could check on her again, he heard Seraphita's voice in his head. _Pharaoh Atem, Tima's destiny is linked with yours. I shall protect you and her. However, Tima must not know about me until the time is right._

Atem nodded in understanding and held Tima's head up. "Tima…drink this…"

Since she could not see thanks to the poison, she opened her mouth and waited. He put the vial to his lips and she swallowed it. After a few seconds, though, her eyes bulged and she heaved a few times over the bed's edge. Atem rubbed her back to make her feel better and Tarra nuzzled her, hoping this would work. To their relief, it did: after the fourth heave, she threw up all the poison, expelling it from her system. Sitting up, she started to catch her breath as her vision started to come back. The first thing she saw was Atem looking at her with teary eyes and a look of relief on his face. She asked, "What happened?"

Atem at first did not answer her; he instead hugged her close, crying for joy that she was all right. Tima blinked a little confusion since Seraphita erased the part of her memory where her Ka helped her. Tarra nuzzled Tima's arm. _You're all right! You're healed!_

Tima nodded, still confused about what happened. Touching Atem's back, she asked, "Atem, why are you…?"

Atem nuzzled her face. "Oh, gods, Tima…I thought I was going to lose you…I thought I was going to lose the person I love the most…"

Tima's eyes widened at his admission. "Atem…did you just…?"

Atem pulled back and held her cheek. "Yes, Tima. I love you…so much that, if I lost you…life would have become meaningless."

Tima's eyes teared up as she touched his hands. "Oh, Atem…I love you too…more than anything."

Atem smiled and held her close with Tima responding to the hug. Tarra smiled at them, happy that her Guardian was happy with someone he truly loved. As they hugged, Tima remembered something: "How will we tell everyone?"

Atem sighed softly. With Roxanna in prison and Seth and Kiko knowing, it was only a matter of time before everyone else found out. But he did not want to worry her since she just recovered from death. "We will discuss it tomorrow, all right? For now, you need to rest."

Tima gripped his arm and looked at him. "Do we have to? They'll take me away…separate us…"

Atem kissed her deeply to silence her. Pulling away, he told her, "Tima, I know this scares you. But I will make this promise to you: if they even try to separate us, I will stop at nothing to get you back." He took her hands in his and continued. "I vow, Tima…as the gods as my witnesses, I will never let anyone take you away. I love you too much to allow that. I shall protect you with every fiber of my being. All right?"

Tima nodded, seeing nothing but truth and love behind his eyes. She hugged him, having him respond. After a minute, though, she loosened her grip from exhaustion. Feeling this, Atem smiled and picked her up in his arms, where she almost immediately fell asleep with her head on his shoulder. Chuckling softly, he then left the hospital wing, making Kiko look up. "Is she…?"

Atem nodded. "She's healed; she's just sleeping. I'm taking her to my room."

Kiko sighed in relief as Atem started the trek to his room. He made it there in seconds, thankfully not running into anyone who would question why he was holding her. Unable to close the door, he went in and lowered her onto the bed. As he was pulling back the sheets to tuck her in, he heard a familiar voice, "She pulled through, I see."

Still feeling guilty about what he said, Atem nodded and tucked in Tima, who curled up in the sheets. "Yes, she did, Seth." He looked up at him and asked, "Where did you go?"

Seth shrugged a little so Itami explained, _The Wedju Shrine._

Atem did not need to know anymore. The last thing that Kisara gave Seth was her Ka, a powerful dragon with white scales and blue eyes. Seth vowed to never use it and would only go see it whenever he was missing Kisara. As Atem started to dress, Seth turned around to give him privacy and asked, "Where is Roxanna?"

"I arrested her. When I confronted her with what Lapidos told us, she attacked me. Kiko will vouch for me."

Seth nodded. He then asked, "Why, my Pharaoh? Why couldn't you learn to love Roxanna? All this could have been avoided…and we might not have to go to war."

Now dressed in his Pharaoh grab, he went to Seth. "Have you ever doubted me running the kingdom that Ra bestowed to me after my father's passing? Did you not see that the Sennen Pendant chose me as its bearer once I ascended the throne?" Each time, Seth responded with shaking his head no. Atem then asked, "Then why do you doubt me?"

Seth tried to say, "I just remember what your Father wanted…"

Atem stopped him. "He wanted me to be happy with a girl. Therefore, if I were to be with Roxanna, I would be disobeying my father's wishes. Besides, you know that he was against me being involved with this."

Seth had to agree with that. As Atem walked out the balcony to think, Seth then tried to say, "Your Father meant well and we the Royal Court care for your happiness but…"

Atem looked at Seth. "But what? This was all for the Kingdom's good, right?" When Seth nodded, Atem's eyes narrowed. "So the Royal Court expected me to sacrifice my happiness, marry to someone I hardly knew from the beginning and grew to not like, and live a life of misery just for the good to the Kingdom?" He sighed and looked out at the Kingdom. "I'd rather be dead than suffer that way."

Seth could not believe what he was hearing. He did not know that Atem felt this strongly about this. "My Pharaoh…"

"I am sorry, Seth. I love my Kingdom but my happiness comes first…and I am happiest with Tima, like you were with Kisara."

Seth looked away, now understanding. But there was another issue at hand: "Then what are we to do? We will go to war with a powerful nation."

Atem was silent for a moment as he considered his answer. He then looked at Seth and told him the best answer he could come up with: "I will come up with an answer. Trust me as you have for all these years."

Seth bowed and backed into the room as Atem turned and left to attend to his duties as Pharaoh. The High Priest sighed and looked at Tima. "The Pharaoh has spoken…I just hope that it will not lead to the death of us all."


	9. Revelations and Trials

Chapter 9

Revelations and Trials

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

Moaning softly, Tima woke up to see the sun low in the sky; because of her brush with death, she slept all day. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and found herself alone in Atem's bed. She hugged herself, remembering how he held and kissed her when he confessed that he loved her. Looking up at the ceiling, she gave silent thanks to God as the door started to open. She looked, hoping that it was Atem; instead, it was Kiko and Nayru instead. "Hey, you're awake!"

Nayru chirped happily, now trusting the Hebrew since she was the one that the Pharaoh loved. _You really had us worried, especially since there was no cure for the poison you were given._

Tima's ears perked up at that. "No cure? Then how did I survive?"

Kiko shook her head. "I don't know. It was nothing short of a miracle."

Tima nodded and scratched her head. She was still puzzled about her small lapse in memory. She remembered having trouble breathing and then being able to breathe again and being told by Atem to drink something. She was missing about a minute of time; what happened in that minute? Kiko tilted her head a little as she went over and sat in front of Tima. "You okay?"

Tima nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. By the way, where is Atem?"

Kiko hesitated at first. She had served wine to Atem and the Court during their meetings throughout the day and noticed the tension in the air. The Court heard that Roxanna was in prison and Seth was the only one who knew why. After the meetings, Atem had Seth tell the Court to return to the throne room at sundown for an emergency meeting to discuss the current affair of the engagement and Roxanna's imprisonment. In fact, that's where she and Lapidos (who was outside) were heading now since they were a witness to Roxanna's evil but they stopped by the room to check Tima. "Atem wants to see me; the Court is having an emergency meeting."

Tima sat up a little. "Emergency meeting? Is everything all right?"

Kiko chuckled. "In our minds, yes. We're just going to discuss what Roxanna did. So don't you worry about a thing."

Tima started to get out of bed. "I want to be a part of it. I mean…I'm the one she tried to kill."

Kiko shook her head and pushed her back onto the bed. "Absolutely not. You're still recovering from your brush with the White Death so you need your rest."

"But…"

"No buts; you're staying in bed and that's final." Hearing Tima whine, Kiko sighed and looked at her Hebrew friend. "Tima, I'm going to be honest with you: Atem wants to wait for you to be completely healed before he reveals his feelings for you to the Court and the kingdom. That way, they won't be overloaded with too many surprises all at once. You understand, right?"

Tima nodded and curled up with the blankets. She suspected that the Court would want to deal with Roxanna's trial first and the revelation of the relationship would cause them to get rid of the Hebrew. Besides, Tima's limbs were not fully back to normal after they went numb from the Poison Hemlock. Kiko looked up and saw Lapidos peeking into the room. "I need to get going. We want to have this meeting before the sun sets."

Tima nodded again. The Cetria started to leave but could not without hugging the Hebrew. "I'm so glad you're all right. You had us scared for a while…but you're all right. The Holy obviously has plans for you."

Tima smiled and hugged the blond. "Thank you. I think you're right. Now go; you don't want to be late." The blond smiled and left with Nayru and Lapidos.

Minutes later, Atem sat on his throne, waiting for the Royal Court to arrive. He was nervous about how they would react to the news that Roxanna would be tried for her attempted-murder and her attacking him. He assumed that Aknadin would be the one who would be the hardest to convince since he was the oldest and, therefore, was brought up on traditions. The rest of the Court might need convincing as well but Atem knew that they wanted what was best for the Pharaoh and the kingdom and that they did not like Roxanna; that fact alone would work in his favor. Tarra, who was on Atem's shoulder, nuzzled him gently. _You're dazed. Are you all right?_

Atem smiled and scratched her head. "I am, Tarra. This needs to be done…I just don't think it will be pleasant."

Tarra leaned into Atem's scratches. _That wouldn't surprise me but, after all this, you can be with the one you truly love._

Atem smiled at that; he could not believe that he could be open about his feelings for Tima. Hearing the door open, the Pharaoh looked up and saw that Seth was the first to arrive with Itami on his shoulder. "My Pharaoh."

Atem nodded his hello. "Seth." As Seth came up to the throne, Atem asked him, "Do I have your loyalty in this?"

Seth looked at Atem in surprise. "Pharaoh?"

Atem looked him in the eyes. "Right now, only you and Kiko know about me and Tima and why Roxanna is in prison. The rest of the Court will more than likely agree that Roxanna is not the one for me and put her on trial for her attack on me. However, they might not think that she'll need to be punished for attempting to kill Tima…and they will be less accepting of my relationship with her. So I need to know that I have your support and loyalty in this."

Seth took a moment to think. He knew that he was one of the people who really pushed for Atem to marry Roxanna to unite Egypt and Greece. However, after seeing how she really was, he knew that she could not take the throne. As for Atem's relationship with Tima, he accepted it now because this relationship was no different than the relationship he had with Kisara: she was a peasant as Tima is and Seth still loved her as Atem loved Tima. Burying the pain that he felt about the death of Kisara, he nodded. "Yes. I pledge my loyalty to your decision."

Atem smiled softly as Itami nuzzled Seth's temple to comfort him. As Kiko and Lapidos walked in, Atem added, "I also need your promise that you'll keep quiet about the relationship. I want Tima to heal and the Court to have time to accept the news about Roxanna before I reveal the relationship."

Seth nodded as Kiko went up to the throne and stood next to it, Nayru on her shoulder and looking down at Tarra. Lapidos bowed before Atem and then stood, waiting for the Court. A couple minutes later, Shimon was the first to arrive and immediately said, "My Pharaoh, there are rumors spreading like locusts about you placing Roxanna under arrest."

Atem simply said, "I did." Seeing Shimon's eyes widen over his veil, the Pharaoh said, "All will be explained when the rest arrive."

Shimon was confused but accepted the answer as the rest of the Court filed in. Isis was the first to arrive and she appeared relatively calm. Atem correctly guessed that her Sennen Tauk showed her a vision; he just wished that he knew what the vision was. Karim, Shada, and Mahad were close behind Isis and Atem knew that they would accept what he had to say because they were fiercely loyal to him, Mahad especially. The last to arrive, Aknadin, was the one that the Pharaoh worried the most about. What gave him a glimmer of hope was that Aknadin would ultimately agree that Roxanna was not the girl for him if she would attack him like she did. When they all stood in front of Atem, Mahad was the first to speak up. "My Pharaoh…are the words we have heard true?"

Atem nodded. "Yes, Mahad. I had Roxanna thrown in the dungeons."

The Court sans Seth was shocked; they had hoped that the rumors were just that, rumors and wishes from slaves who did not like her. Aknadin asked, "What is her crime?"

Atem calmly explained, "Attacking me and the attempted murder of my slave."

Feeling the need to be a witness, Kiko nodded and stepped forward. "We confronted her with the evidence that Lapidos provided for us and, when he left to check Tima, she lunged at him. It looked like she planned to strangle him."

Being loyalists, Karim and Mahad tensed up at the mention of someone attacking the Pharaoh. While disgusted with what Roxanna did, Aknadin wanted to avoid going to war with Greece. "Kiko, could you have been mistaken by Roxanna's actions?"

Kiko tensed up; she never liked Aknadin because of how deep into traditions he was. She was about to snap at him but Lapidos took a step forward. "Sir, if I may, while I was not there to witness, I can say that Roxanna is now capable to attacking the Pharaoh. I've known her since she was a child and I've always known that she was never in favor of punishing criminals by death. Now, for her to punish an innocent slave for no reason…this is not like her at all. I fear that she has turned to the dark side."

Seto stated, "If that is the case, we can't have a Queen like her. While we cannot have her because of her attack on the Pharaoh alone, her attempted murder of the slave known as Tima is reason enough."

The Court looked at Seth; why was he putting much emphasis on what happened to Tima? Stepping up, Isis had a question of her own. "My Pharaoh, while I agree with Seth that Roxanna is not fit to be Queen because of the attack, I must know: would you still be saying these things if she did not try to kill your slave?"

Atem looked at Isis and his eyes widened a little at the sparkle in her eyes: she knew. The Sennen Tauk gave her a vision the day before of two shadowy figures, one of which had six wings and the vision became clear when the meeting was announced. While she was surprised by what she saw, she decided to accept the vision and hearing the reason for Roxanna's imprisonment helped her trust the vision even more. Atem hoped that her calmness meant that his decision would not lead to their downfall. Aknadin looked at Atem. "Isis has a valid question. With all due respect, Pharaoh, it would seem that we are focused more on her attempted murder on the slave than on her attacking you."

Kiko looked at Aknadin and said sternly, "We should. If this is how she treats an innocent slave who serves the Pharaoh, what's to stop her from going after you? Or Isis? Or anyone who is close to him, like the Court or his friend Mana?"

Aknadin bristled mentally; he never got along with Kiko because of how informal she was with Atem. Mahad nodded. "I agree with Kiko. With Roxanna in the state that she is in, she is not fit to rule."

Agreeing but understanding Aknadin's questions, Shada asked, "Where does this leave us? Roxanna's father will be here for the wedding, which is thirteen suns away."

Seth spoke up sternly, "Obviously, the wedding is off."

Atem nodded. "Agreed. I will send Tarra to deliver a message to Roxanna's father, telling him that the wedding is off and that she will go on trial for her crimes."

The Court was not happy with what became of this: Roxanna came from a powerful country, one they wanted as an ally, not as an enemy, but Roxanna could not rule in their country because of her high crimes. Wanting to know, Lapidos asked, "If I may, my Pharaoh…where is Tima?"

Atem smiled softly. "She's in my room. I have her there so I can keep a close eye on her while she heals."

Shimon thought of something. "My Pharaoh, you must consider what will happen if Roxanna's father disputes your decision to put her in the dungeons. After all, he may claim her innocence and try to pressure you into marrying her."

Having thought of that during the meetings earlier, Atem answered honestly. "I have considered that. If he disputes her imprisonment, I will release her to him on the grounds that she be returned to Greece immediately. But I will not bow to the pressure to marry her. If he still wants to unite our kingdoms, we can discuss a peace treaty that will benefit both sides."

The Court was not sure about this because, if Roxanna was this way, what was her father like? Keeping the faith, Seth nodded. "We will stand by your decision."

Atem smiled. "So let it be written, so let it be done."

With that quote, the Court knew that the Pharaoh had spoken and they had to carry out his wishes; they just hoped that Roxanna's father would take it without a fight.

Five days later, Atem woke up early and looked down at Tima, who was sleeping in his arms. He smiled softly and kissed her forehead, relieved that she was fully healed from being poisoned; he had worked with her every night to her limbs back to full working order. He chuckled silently, remembering how she tried to keep him from doing so because he, the Pharaoh, should not do such things to her, a slave. Atem always told her to not say such things and that he had every right to help her because he loved her. What he did not tell her was that he wanted to show his love in another way; he planned to tell her when she woke up. He then sighed and laid his head back on the pillow. Today was also the day that Roxanna's father would arrive from Greece. After the meeting five days ago, he sent Tarra to Greece with a written message that explained Roxanna's crimes, knowing that a phoenix could travel faster than any other bird. She returned two days later and told Atem that, as soon as he read the message, Roxanna's father said that he was coming to Egypt and left as soon as the sun rose. The Pharaoh knew that this needed to be done but Atem was still worried about how the Greek would react. Feeling Tima twitch a little, his thoughts were interrupted to his delight as he looked down at her. "Good morning."

Tima looked up at him, keeping her head on his chest, and smiled. "Morning, Atem."

Atem stroked her hair gently. "Have a good sleep?"

Tima nodded and started to rub his chest with her hand. "I did. Did you?"

Atem sighed and laid his head back on the pillow. "Not really. As you know, Roxanna's father is coming today to get the story about what his daughter did." Feeling her shiver in fear, he smiled gently and rubbed her back. "Don't worry, he won't harm you. I will protect you…both from you and from those who might want to separate us."

Tima sat up and looked into his eyes. "Will someone separate us? I mean…they might just look at our statuses and not see what we have."

Atem reached up and stroked her hair. "Don't worry yourself about that. After today, we can be together; no more hiding in secret."

Tima smiled at the idea, which made Atem realize that he had to tell her. Sitting up with her, he for a moment thought it was fitting that she was hearing a white nightgown and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. He then whispered in her ear, "I want you to be by my side…"

Tima blushed at the feeling of his breath on her ear. "As a servant?"

Atem chuckled and shook his head. "No…not as a servant. No more will you be a servant." Pulling back to look at her, he took her hands in his and confessed, "I want you as my Queen."

Tima's eyes widened as a tear slid down her face. "Atem…"

Atem smiled and wiped the tear away before touching her cheek. "I love you more than life itself and I want you to be my equal. And, by making you my Queen…I want you as my wife as well."

More tears spilled from her eyes as she smiled and nodded. "Yes…yes, Atem…I will be your wife and Queen."

Atem smiled and hugged her tightly, with her responding, before kissing her deeply. Tima kissed him back, silently thanking God for everything He gave her. After a minute, however, their kiss was interrupted by a familiar "ahem." Atem looked up and playfully glared as Tima hid her face in his chest. "Do you mind?"

Holding a tray of food, Kiko grinned. "No, not at all. Don't stop on my account." Atem rolled his eyes as the Cetria remembered the other reason why she was there. "Roxanna's father's boat is on the horizon."

Tima shivered a little out of instinct; even though she was safe from him, she was still scared of Hypatios from how he treated the slaves. Feeling her shiver, Atem rubbed her back. "Don't worry, my dear; he won't be able to harm you."

Tima smiled as he pulled away and dressed. Kiko held up the platter. "What about breakfast?"

Atem took a loaf of bread. "You can give the rest for the real future Queen." With that, he left.

Kiko looked at Tima with wide eyes. "Did he just…?"

Tima nodded, her smile growing. "He just asked me to be his Queen…and I said yes."

Setting the platter aside, Kiko ran to Tima and picked her up in a hug, laughing with the Hebrew. "Oh, Tima! I'm so happy for you!"

Tima smiled as she was put back on solid ground. Before eating her breakfast, she grabbed the dress that was on the ground, only to have Kiko squeak loudly. "No, no! Don't even think of wearing that!"

Tima blinked in surprise. "Why not?"

"You are the Pharaoh's fiancé! You have to dress the part!"

Tima blushed a little. "But…I have nothing like that."

Realizing the problem, Kiko left for a moment and came back with an armful of clothes that looked familiar to Tima. Before the Hebrew could ask, Kiko shrugged and said innocently, "What? Roxanna's never going to wear them again. Plus, this'll do before we get you own clothes."

Tima sulked a little but agreed.

In the throne room, Atem and the Court were waiting for the arrival of Hypatios. While they waited, Atem decided that it was time. Getting the attention for the Court, the Pharaoh asked, "You all trust me, correct?"

Suspecting what Atem was going to confess, Seth looked at him and nodded. "Of course, my Pharaoh. You were chosen by the Sennen Pendant and have never stirred us wrong."

Mahad agreed. "You have been a wise and just Pharaoh. How can we not trust you?"

Before Atem could answer, the door opened to reveal Kiko and a shy Tima. Atem's eyes widened; Tima looked like a goddess. She wore a white, silk, sleeveless dress that had an emerald in the middle. To go with her dress, she wore gold sandals, gold bangles, and a gold arm band on her left arm. Her hair was combed and cleaned with a gold clip on the side. Aknadin's face scrunched up in surprise. "What is the meaning of this?"

Seeing her nervous, Atem gestured for Tima to come to him. As she walked to him, still very shy, Atem explained, "I have not been completely honest with you, my friends." When Tima came up to him, he took her hand and said flat out, "Tima will become my new Queen because I am in love with her."

The Court, sans Seth and Isis (to Atem's surprise), were shocked: the Pharaoh was in love with a slave and wanted to marry her? As Tima gently sat on the arm of the throne, Aknadin spoke up. "My Pharaoh! If I may, this is ridiculous! You know that you can only marry royalty!"

Atem gave Aknadin a stern look. "Traditions come and go and the heart does not care about traditions."

Before Aknadin could speak, Isis said, "She is the true Queen." Everyone looked at her in surprise as she explained, "My Sennen Tauk gave me a vision suns ago, before the emergency meeting. The woman with the six wings, I do not know who she is. However, I could see Tima dressed as the Queen and had a feeling from the image; it told me…'this is right.'"

Recognizing the winged-figure as the Ka known as Seraphita, Atem was relieved that Isis saw a good vision about his relationship. Hearing that was just salt on the "wound" that Aknadin felt since this went against everything the kingdom went by. Being just as accepting but wanting the full answer, Mahad asked for permission to speak freely and, when he got it, asked, "What is it about her that made you choose her?"

Atem looked up at Tima and caressed her cheek, making Tima close her eyes and lean into his hand. "Ever since I met her, I learned a lot about Tima. She's not an ordinary woman…she's special, with a kind heart and a strong faith. Despite her being teased by the Greeks because of her belief, she stayed strong in her faith. Can you tell me someone else who can follow their beliefs and stay by it?"

Mahad smiled and closed his eyes. "No, my Pharaoh. I have yet to meet a foreign person like that."

Tima smiled at Mahad, sensing that she could trust him, especially since she remembered Kiko telling her that Mahad was the one that Atem saved from the snake when they were children. Seeing Shada and Karim being quiet, the Hebrew decided to take a chance. "You can tell us your views."

The Court was surprised that she spoke and Atem smiled, glad that she did. Karim looked at the Sennen Scales. "The Scales have been perfectly balanced since she walked in the throne room. There's no darkness in her heart."

While Tima expected Karim to say his personal views, Atem smiled again at the answer. He then looked at Shada, who said, "My Pharaoh, it is not us, the Royal Court, to choose who you may be happy with. We are to serve you and see that you are happy. I can see that this young woman brings you happiness."

Shimon, who had remained silent and listened, agreed, smiling at Tima through his veil. "The feelings of the Pharaoh help decide the path of the kingdom. If this woman makes you feel happy, the kingdom will be blissful as well and that is what we strive for, after all."

Aknadin was now outnumbered. Aside from Shimon, he was all that was left of the Court that suggested to Aknamkanon that Atem marry Roxanna to unite the countries. While he knew that Seth was for the marriage at first, he sensed that his mind changed. Still, he wanted to try so he asked, "My Pharaoh…she is not of royalty. This could cause a controversy among the people or with our allies."

The Court sensed what Aknadin was trying to do; Atem knew as well and answered honestly: "I do not care, Aknadin. I love Tima and I have faith in both of us, faith that we will overcome any hardship. No matter what will happen, I will not allow us to be separated."

Tima smiled and took his hand. Seeing this, Seth nodded. "We will follow the Pharaoh's example in leading into a new era. As High Priest and the Pharaoh's right hand man, I will personally see to it that Tima is crowned Queen."

The Court sans Aknadin agreed with Seth: Tima was to become the new Queen. Tima smiled at them and bowed her head at them. "Thank you…for allowing Atem and I to be together."

The Court bowed their heads in respect to the soon-to-be Queen, making Tima blush a little. Aknadin, however, was silently against it because royalty has never married non-royalty in Khment's history. Seeing his face, Atem asked sternly, "Do you have something to say? Speak freely."

Aknadin crossed his arms. "With all due respect, my Pharaoh, what will you do if Roxanna's father threatens us with war because you are marrying a slave instead of his daughter?"

As if on cue, Hypatios walked in through the door with a couple of Greek guards behind him. At the sight of him, Tima started to tremble, prompting Atem to rub her arm and looked at Hypatios. Dressed in a long, white tunic with a white toga with blue borders, it was the face of the thirty-eight year old politician that stood out the most to Atem; he could see why Tima and the other slaves were nervous around him. An oval-shaped face topped with brown, curly hair, piercing but disapproving silver-blue eyes over dark circles from a stressful life, a sharp nose, and a small frown, he looked like the type of man who would give you an emotionless look while striking you down. Ignoring Tima, Hypatios kneeled down his knee. "My Pharaoh."

Atem nodded. "Rise, Hypatios. We have much to discuss."

Hypatios stood to his feet and immediately asked, "Where is my daughter?"

His arms crossed, Seth answered, "She is in the dungeons."

Not looking at Seth but still hearing him, Hypatios said, "I would like to see her."

Atem agreed and let two guards go to retrieve the young Greek. The Pharaoh then stated, "I regret that we had to meet in this way."

Hypatios nodded, his emotion never changing. "Indeed. I had hoped that we would meet when you wedded Roxanna but your note said that you had no intention to marry her now."

"That is correct. The Priests and I agree that she cannot be trusted to rule after she tried to kill my slave."

Hypatios smirked and chuckled, still ignoring Tima (which annoyed Atem). His true side showing, he said in an almost amused voice, "Forgive me, my Pharaoh, but what is the life of one slave? Especially the foreign one that my daughter was gracious enough to give you. What do you care if she dies?"

Seth gripped the Sennen Rod tighter, seeing where Roxanna got her attitude from. "You will watch your tongue when speaking about the future Queen of Khment!"

Hearing that, Hypatios looked at Tima and chuckled again. "Future Queen of Khment? This slave? What is the meaning of this, my Pharaoh?"

Atem squeezed Tima's hand. "Fate had a different plan for us. Tima will become my Queen because…I am in love with her."

Hypatios was stunned, not expecting this at all. "In love with her? She is a slave!" Catching himself, he collected himself and continued, "My Pharaoh, I gave you my daughter to unite the two countries and you throw them away for a fling with the slave?"

Tima lowered her head a little, prompting Atem stroked her cheek. "I knew the risks; I do not want war with Greece. However, my heart is set on Tima and nothing will change that." Giving Hypatios a hard look, he said, "If you understood how I felt, you would see reason."

Hypatios wanted to protest but he saw the look in Atem's eyes when he looked at Tima. Hypatios had the same look when he used to look at his first and only love, Roxanna's mother. The Greek loved her deeply and never fully recovered when she died due to complications from giving birth to Roxanna. Burying the sting he felt when he thought of his late wife, he studied the connection between Atem and Tima; even he could not deny that the love between them was real. Noticing Hypatios going quiet, Atem asked, "Is everything all right?"

Reverting back to his emotionless state, he nodded. "What will happen to my daughter?"

Seth said sternly, "She will be put on trial for the attempted murder of the future Queen and for attacking the Pharaoh. The punishment is death."

Hypatios did not like the sound of that. "Is there any way to save her?"

Seth started to say no but Tima surprised everyone by saying, "If she repents, yes."

Everyone in the room looked at Tima in surprise. She smiled and nodded. "If she repents and asks for forgiveness, we'll let you take her home."

Seth looked at Tima in shock. "She almost killed you and you're giving her a chance? That makes no sense."

Tima smiled and rubbed her arm. "I understand why you say that; my people believe in revenge. But I don't think God is like that; I truly believe that God preaches forgiveness. Besides, I believe that those who commit revenge are the same as the person who committed the act against them."

Atem smiled and rubbed Tima's back, making her smile widen. Hypatios could not believe what he was hearing: after the hell that he and Roxanna put her through, he expected her to be spiteful and out for revenge and here she was, being the exact opposite in being ready to forgive the wrongdoers. He got ready to apologize when the guards and a helping Lapidos returned with a screaming and thrashing Roxanna. The week in the dungeons left her almost unrecognizable and let her dark side to completely take over her: her dress was torn from her temper, her hair was wild, and she looked possessed. Hypatios could not believe it: this was the daughter that he spoiled because she looked so much like her mother? "Roxanna!"

Roxanna stopped thrashing and looked up. Seeing her father, her eyes widened in shock. "Daddy?"

The politician's heart broke. "What happened to you?"

Roxanna looked away, embarrassed by how she looked. "They threw me in the dungeons for no reason."

Mahad shook his head. Were it not for her high crimes, he would feel sorry for her. Seth hissed, "We do not throw innocents into the dungeons."

Roxanna glared at him and then noticed who was behind him: Tima, sitting next to Atem. Her anger growing, she tried to lunge at Tima but was held back by the guards. "Get away from him! He's mine!"

Tima turned her head away, which infuriated the Greek even more. She continued to try to break away from the guards to attack Tima. After a minute, Seth let the guards take her back into the hall. The Court knew that he could have told the guards to remove Roxanna immediately but sensed that the High Priest let her stay for a while to deliver the message to Hypatios. The method worked: the politician looked at Atem, stunned. "This can't be happening…"

Atem sighed. "I'm so sorry, Hypatios."

Tima said nothing, not wanting to look at Hypatios until he apologized to her. Karim looked at the tilted scales. "Her heart is filled with envy and hatred. It is enough to produce a Ka."

Seth nodded in agreement and looked at Shada. "Do you think the Ka can be removed?"

Shada shook his head in ignorance. "It depends on how deep her hatred is. If the Ka already bonded with her soul…"

Both Hypatios and Tima had no idea what they were talking about. Atem nodded to the Court and Seth called for the guards to bring Roxanna back into the room to go on trial. This time, the guards shackled her wrists together to try to get her to calm down more. The Greek immediately zeroed in on Tima, who looked away, and hissed, "Look at me, slave! You have no right to look away from me!"

Karim ordered, "You will show proper respect to the future Queen of Khment!"

Not putting two and two together, Roxanna glared at him and held up her wrist shackles. "Some respect you're giving her! Now let me go!"

Now feeling horrible at how she was acting, Hypatios explained as gently as he could, "You are not going to be Queen…Tima is."

Roxanna's eyes widened and narrowed in anger. Spitting at the ground, she hissed, "Bitch…"

With that remark, even Aknadin was angered: as much as he did not like that a slave was going to be Queen, he knew that he had no say in denying it and that Tima did not deserve the insult she got. Atem's anger was especially boiling: how dare Roxanna insult his beloved like that. He wanted to say something when he felt Tima touch his hand. Looking at her, he watched as Tima looked at Roxanna with a frown on her face. "That's enough, Roxanna. You're making a fool of yourself and disrespecting yourself and your father."

Roxanna hissed at her, her eyes narrowing even further. "You bitch…get away from my man! You stole him and the throne from me!"

Tima shook her head, still keeping calm. "I did not steal anything; fate just had a different plan. Now the best thing you can do is ask for forgiveness and leave with your father. Don't pass up this opportunity."

Roxanna screamed in fury and tried to get free from the shackles; her struggles grew when Hypatios nodded at Lapidos and Lapidos grabbed Roxanna from behind, trying to calm her. Roxanna then sealed her fate when she yelled, "You little bitch! I should have given you a stronger dose of those flowers!"

Hypatios paled, knowing what Roxanna was talking about. "You poisoned Tima with Poison Hemlock?!"

Roxanna paled as she froze, realizing that she just confessed. Feeling Lapidos pull away from her, she looked at Hypatios, who looked at her with the emotionless look he had when he entered the throne room for the first time. "You are no longer my daughter."

Roxanna's face fell as tears spilled. "Daddy…"

Hypatios looked away as the Royal Court surrounded Roxanna: it was time for the trial to begin. Looking at the six, Roxanna asked, "What…?"

Atem told Roxanna with a strong voice, "Roxanna, your crime will be judged by the Sennen Items!"

The Greeks and Tima did not understand what that meant. They soon found out: Shada held up his Sennen Key. "With the Sennen Key, I will look into her heart!"

Roxanna froze, feeling her heart being read. Tima's eyes widened; she had never seen anything like this and it frightened her a little. After a minute of reading, Shada had to pull back. "There is nothing left but darkness…but we have a problem." Looking at Seth, he confirmed, "It is as we feared: her Ka has attached to her soul."

Hypatios looked at Atem. "What does that mean?"

Atem gave Hypatios a sympathetic look. "It means we can't save her."

Shimon explained, "The Ka is the spirit that reflects the nature of the person that they come from. We cannot control an evil Ka and it can't be removed like a regular Ka. I'm sorry but she has to be killed."

Roxanna's eyes widened when she heard that. "No…you wouldn't! You can't!"

Hypatios looked away, feeling depressed. He hated that he would be losing another member of his family, especially his link to his late wife. However, he sensed that the Court was doing this for the greater good, not to get back at her. Looking at Roxanna, Seth said, "Roxanna, for your crimes and harboring an evil Ka, your sentence is death."

Roxanna was stunned. However, her look twisted to pure evil as her evil side took over. "I will not…let you kill me!"

Suddenly, her head lowered so that her eyes were shadowed and a dark aura surrounded her, making the Sennen Items react to the evil. Tima recoiled in fear; she felt like she was looking the devil in the eye. Getting scared, Hypatios demanded, "What's going on?"

Seth growled. "It's more powerful than we expected."

The Ka started to form a shape: it was a blue-skinned human-formed Ka with pointy ear and black, slanted eyes. It had black hair but it had patches of baldness, as if the Ka ripped out her hair. It was wearing a black dress that was extremely tight on her, as if the dress melted onto its skin. But the most telling part of the Ka was the broken doll it was holding in its arms. Atem sat up straight and ordered, "Don't let it attack!"

Mahad nodded and a stone appeared behind Mahad, the craving of a magician on it. The spirit of Mahad's Ka came out and faced the dark Ka. Mahad ordered, "Magus! Bind the Ka!"

The Ka used its magic and made rings to bind Roxanna's Ka. Mahad thought he had it but the Ka broke the rings and clutched Roxanna from behind. Roxanna looked up slowly, showing a dazed but evil look in her eyes and she hissed, "He's mine…"

Then, without warning, the Ka disappeared, taking Roxanna with her. Everyone was in shock: how could the girl escape with the help of her Ka? Outraged, Atem stood from his throne and ordered, "Tell the guards to search the palace and the kingdom! Don't let her escape!"

Agreeing, the Royal Court left to alert the guards. However, Atem stopped Isis. "Isis, wait a moment. I have a special duty for you. Since Tima is going to be my Queen…I think she deserves to wear it."

Knowing that Atem was talking about, Isis smiled and took Tima into another room. Feeling better, Tima looked at Isis and asked, "Where are we going?"

Isis said, "You will see." Soon, they came to a room that had an altar with a box in the center. Isis led Tima to the altar. "In here, when the Pharaoh chooses a woman who is suitable for his Queen, she wears the Queen's Pendant."

Tima blinked a little until her eyes widened in awe at the necklace that Isis pulled out of the box. The chain was gold and it held a beautiful diamond that was held in place by golden wings. Turning to Tima, the priestess explained, "The Goddess Isis protects and guides women; her wings will protect you until and after you are crowned Queen and the necklace will serve as a sign that you are royalty. I know that this might be against your beliefs but it would do us such an honor if you would wear it."

Tima knew that her faith prohibited having false idols but the necklace provided a few loopholes: it was a sign of royalty and it was not a figurine of the goddess. So the Hebrew nodded with a smile.

Left alone with the Pharaoh, Hypatios looked at Atem and bowed his head in shame. Having seen how Roxanna turned to evil, he felt horrible. "My Pharaoh…I am sorry for this disgrace."

Atem shook his head and sat back down. "It's not your fault. Roxanna has chosen her path; sadly, it is the path of darkness."

Wanting to cling to hope, Hypatios looked up and asked, "Can she be found?"

Atem sighed and decided to be honest with the politician; he deserved that much. "If she is not found within the next three suns…then the desert has claimed her life."

Hypatios nodded. "Very well. If it is all right with you, I will stay for those three suns."

Atem agreed. "If you insist. You can stay in a guest room." As Hypatios tried to calm himself, Atem brought up, "I still want to have a peaceful agreement between our countries. If I may suggest, a peace treaty among our countries is the best solution to have."

Thinking it over, Hypatios nodded. "I agree, that is the best idea. That should have been done instead of a union marriage. While we wait to hear if my daughter is found, you and I can make up the treaty and I will deliver it to the Caesar."

Atem nodded as the door opened and Isis and Tima returned. Atem's eyes lit up at the sight of the Queen's necklace around Tima's necklace; it was even more special to him because the last person to wear it was his mother. Gesturing Tima forward, Atem hugged her gently once she was in reach. Seeing the two so much in love, Hypatios felt guilty and cleared his throat, getting Tima's attention. "Slave…" he caught himself, "Tima…I apologize for what my daughter and I have done to you."

Tima's eyes widened in surprise. "Sir…"

"I should have treated you like a person when you worked under me and I should have taught my daughter to do the same." Getting down on one knee, he crossed his left arm across his chest and he bowed his head. "Please forgive me."

Tima could not believe it: the man that she feared, the man who abused her, was asking for forgiveness. Smiling softly, she nodded. "You are forgiven."

Hypatios stood and left with a servant who arrived to announce that Hypatios' room was ready. Left alone, Tima looked at Atem and smiled. "Is this it? Are we free?"

Atem smiled and nodded. "Yes…we don't have to hide anymore, my Queen."

Tima smiled and kissed him deeply. Finally, after losing everything, she was finally free to be happy with the man she loved. Little did they know that they were being watched: Seth came back to announce that the guards were looking for Roxanna and saw the two together. While he was happy for them, he was also jealous since he also had a relationship with a servant and his ended with tragedy. Thinking of Kisara, his heart stung a little as he remembered that he vowed to never love another after losing his white-haired angel. However, little did he know that Fate had a different story for him…

_The three days came and left and Roxanna was not found so Hypatios left with the peace treaty and a heavy heart, hoping that Roxanna did not suffer in the desert. However, the palace did not know that, the night after the trial, a caravan left before it could be searched…_


	10. Reflection

Chapter 10

Reflection

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. For the next couple chapters, this is an interlude to introduce the second pairing in the Pairing Hierarchy that my coauthor and I created.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

The day after Hypatios left, leaving Lapidos behind as a spokesman for Greece, Tima was being prepared to be presented to the kingdom. She felt very nervous, scared that they would not accept her because she was a slave. Having been dressed by servants (who were clearly jealous of her), she was standing in front of a mirror, looking herself over as Kiko brushed her brown hair. "I barely look like myself…"

Kiko chuckled. "You're right…you look human."

Tima was not sure how to respond to that, especially with how nervous she was. When Kiko finished brushing the brunette's hair, the Hebrew looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a simple but elegant white, floor-length, sleeveless dress with a small gold belt around her waist. She had gold arm bands on both arms and gold sandals on her feet. She rubbed her arms a little as Kiko chuckled. "Don't be nervous; you'll be fine."

Tima looked at the blond. "What if they don't accept me?"

Kiko waved it off. "You're talking nonsense. They will love you."

Tima sighed and looked away. "I don't think the other servants do anymore."

Kiko had to acknowledge the possibility; she did see the jealous looks on the servants who dressed her. As Tima looked into the mirror, Kiko hugged her friend from behind. "That's true: they're jealous now. But give them time: the jealously will melt away and they will see you for who you really are: just one of them."

Tima chuckled a little and touched the Cetria's arms. "Really? After all, I'm not a servant anymore."

Shaking her head, Kiko tapped the Hebrew's heart. "Deep down, you're still the same as they are. Never forget that."

Tima nodded as there was a knock at the door. When Kiko granted entrance, Atem stepped in, dressed in his Pharaoh's garb with Tarra on his shoulder. Tima looked at him and blushed a little, especially he smiled and took a step forward. "Tima, you look so beautiful."

Kiko chuckled. "Of course she does. The fiancé of the Pharaoh deserves nothing short of the best clothes."

Tima blushed some more as Kiko left. Atem looked at her and saw how nervous she was. "Don't worry; they will love you."

Tima nodded and leaned her head into Atem's neck. "I hope you're right…"

Tarra moved to her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek a little. _Fret not. You'll be fine._

Tima smiled at her words.

Minutes later, she and Atem were looking out at the balcony where Tima would be presented to the kingdom; the people in town knew that the Pharaoh had an important announcement to make but did not know what it was. She was trying to calm the goosebumps forming on her arms. Rubbing her back, Atem was about to step forward when they heard a familiar voice: "Don't be nervous."

Looking up, they saw that Seth and Itami were there; he wanted to see this firsthand since he was the first to truly accept this relationship. Tima chuckled and rubbed her arms again. "Too late. I mean…what if they don't like me?"

Seth smirked and closed his eyes. "The future Queen should not have to worry about what others think of her. She walks down her own road with trust and confidence steaming from her intuition and heart." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "You managed to stay strong in your faith and your belief in what your heart tells you. The people will see that…and they will love you for that."

Itami's eyes sparkled at the Hebrew. _Just as you won over everyone in the Court a few suns ago, you will win over the town. We know it._

Silently thanking Seth and Itami for their words, Atem came into view of the villagers, prompting them to cheer and chant for their god-incarnate leader and his chosen phoenix. Holding up his hands to quiet them, Atem started with, "Citizens, I bring you joyous news. I have found my future Queen."

The townspeople did not expect to hear that; they had seen Roxanna when she accompanied him to check on a new building project and they did hear rumors that this was the woman who was supposed to marry the Pharaoh and rule with him. But it seemed like Atem was not talking about her. They also noted that Atem appeared to more relaxed and happier; when he rode through town, whether Roxanna was with him or not, he appeared stressed and unhappy. Their thoughts were interrupted when Atem continued. "She is the woman who I fell in love with and with whom I am very happy with. Because of that, I know that she and I will lead this kingdom to prosperity and protect everyone from those who would seek to harm us."

The villagers cheered again as Atem looked behind him and smiled at Tima. Her nervousness growing again, she slowly stepped forward until she was in view. When she did, the townspeople did not know how to respond at first. They could tell that she was not from Khment because of her skin color and that she did not come from royalty because of how nervous she was. Squeezing her hand a little, Atem stepped to the side, still in view, to let Tima speak. Tima looked out at the people and could feel their stares on her. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she started to speak. "I wish I knew what to say. When I came here many moons ago…I never pictured my life turning out like this: going from the Pharaoh's slave…to his fiancé."

She blushed a little, not wanting to be boastful about her good luck. Feeling Atem's hand rub her back, she continued. "I know that I might not be the perfect look for the Queen. The truth is…I'm not sure of myself. Even after all this, I still have my doubts." Looking at Atem's smile, she smiled as well and gained a little more confidence. "But I will make this promise to all of you: I will do everything in my power to be a Queen you can proud of, one that you can look up to and support."

When she stopped speaking, she could hear the silence of the crowd. Biting her lower lip, she looked at Atem. "Do they not…?"

Hearing the cheers starting to build, Atem chuckled. "You still think that?"

Tima looked out at the peasants and saw that they were indeed cheering for her. Blushing, she held up her hand, trying to be modest. While they did stop cheering, they did something else that surprised the Hebrew: they bowed to her, showing that they both accepted her as their future Queen and respected her. Tima slowly lowered her hand as Atem took her hand and led her inside. "You see? You had nothing to worry about."

Tima giggled and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Yes, you're right." Feeling him pull her towards his study, she asked, "Where are we going? Aren't there meetings to attend to?"

Atem shook his head. "No, not until the sun starts to lower in the sky. For the next few suns, I will be teaching you Hieratic while the sun climbs."

When they reached the study, Atem had Tima sit down at the desk as the Hebrew asked, "Okay…but why do I have to learn?"

Atem chuckled as Tarra flew to the desk corner and looked at Tima. _The future Queen of Khment should know how to read and write the language._

Tima blushed and nodded. "Yes, you are right."

Atem smiled and sat next to her. There were already papers in front of her, some with writings on them and others blank. Tima could not believe that her fiancé, the Pharaoh, was taking time out to teach her the written language of his people. Trying to be modest, she said, "You know, you don't have to do this."

Atem chuckled and kissed her gently. "It's my pleasure, my dear."

Tima blushed and smiled in response.

As the sun started to reach its peak later that day, Seth made his way to the study to remind Atem of the meeting. Seeing the door open a little, he peeked in, ready to knock, but froze at the sight. Tarra in the corner cleaning her feathers, Tima was trying to name the letters that Atem pointed out on the piece of paper filled with symbols. She got about half of them right, frustrating her but pleasing the Pharaoh and the lightning phoenix; they were pleasantly surprised that she was able to pick up as much as she did. Seth found that he was having trouble breathing so he excused himself into the hallway behind a pillar, wanting a moment to settle himself and his emotions. However, Itami found him and landed on his shoulder. _There you are, Seth. You're usually early for meetings._

Seth silently reached up and scratched her chest a little. The phoenix leaned into the scratches but was still concerned. _Something on your mind?_

Seth whispered, "I'm fine."

Itami's eyes gave an all-knowing glint. _Seth, you know as well as I do that you can't keep your thoughts hidden from me. Now what is wrong?_

Knowing that she was right, Seth peeked around the pillar at the door to Atem's study. Itami flew to the door, peeked in, and immediately understood: about a week before she was killed, Seth took it upon himself to help Kisara read and write since he wanted her to be his equal and that meant her knowing the language Seth worked with. Her eyes turning sad, Itami flew back to Seth and nuzzled his head, showing that she understood. _You know it wasn't your fault, right?_

Seth lowered his head where the shadows covered his eyes. "It was…if I didn't worry her…if only I could have saved her…"

Feeling his wound reopen with the memory of Kisara dying his arms, a tear fell from his shadowed eye. Seeing this, Itami's heart broke. _Oh, Seth…please don't cry…_

Normally strong with confidence, Seth's voice cracked, "I'm not."

Itami nuzzled his cheek, wiping away the tear in the process. She then rested her cheek on his. Feeling this, Seth reached up and held her close. Only Itami knew Seth could be like this when the wound was reopened; he did a good job hiding it and took extra care to never show this side of him around anyone else, especially the Royal Court. The two stayed still until Seth was able to regain his composure, clear by him lifting his head and revealing his eyes. Itami looked at him, still worried. _Seth? Are you all right?_

Seth nodded and scratched her head. "I'm fine now. Thank you." He revealed himself from behind the pillar and looked at Itami. "Now remember…"

Itami nodded. _I know; not a word._

Seth nodded and started to go the study again. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. "My Pharaoh, the meetings are about to start."

Atem said from the room, "Very well. I will be there soon."

Seth nodded and started to head to the meeting room. However, he got an unexpected distraction: Kiko came running up to him, Nayru flying next to her. "Seth! Can I make a request to you?"

Seth looked at the Cetria in surprise. The blond very rarely spoke to him, let alone had requests for him. But he decided to let her speak and nodded. "Very well. What is it?"

Kiko smiled. "The new servants are here. I believe it is in your best interest to join me in meeting them."

Itami gave a little squeak in surprise and looked at Nayru as he settled onto his guardian's shoulder. _What is this about?_

Nayru's eyes glinted with mischief. _It's a riddle._

Itami mentally smirked, knowing what that meant. In the dark about what the phoenixes were talking about, Seth asked, "Why should I go meet the servants? You've never asked me to do this before."

Kiko smiled. "I know. But the planet is telling me that you need to join me."

Having seen what happened when Atem argued that the planet could be wrong, Seth decided to swallow his argument and go with Kiko.

At the courtyard, Kiko, Seth, and their phoenixes found a row of eight new servants, evenly split on gender. An experienced male servant was there and bowed in respect to Seth. "High Priest. Kiko."

Kiko looked at the servants and nodded. "They look good. What do you think?"

The veteran looked at the servants and answered honestly: "They are all ready to serve…except one."

Seth's ears perked up at that. He did not like the idea of a servant not ready to serve; that could mean either rebellion or sloppy work. "Who?"

The servant pointed to a girl at the end of the line. "She seems too scared."

Kiko approached the girl. Her straight hair reaching down to her waist, the brunette was tiny compared to the other servants, even the women. Were it not for her breasts, she would have passed for a child, though she was Kiko's age. To Seth and Kiko's surprise, her skin was the same color as Tima, indicating that she was an Hebrew as well. Her head was down and she was trembling. The Cetria looked at the girl and felt a message come from the planet. She looked at Seth and then back at the brunette. "Hello there. I'm Kiko; what's your name?"

The girl was too nervous to speak. Taking her silence as ignoring, Seth gripped the Sennen Rod and took a step forward. Itami's talons squeezed his shoulder a little. _Don't scare her; she's terrified as it is._

Seth listened to Itami's words but decided to ignore her; after all, fear was a good motivation to keep servants from rebelling against their masters. Feeling a shadow over her, the servant girl looked up and saw Seth. Gasping, she lowered her head again, making Itami peck Seth. _I told you not to scare her!_

Seth gave his phoenix a glancing glare and then turned his attention back to the brunette. "Girl, the head servant asked you a question. Now what is your name?"

Taking a deep breath, the girl squeaked out, "Tikali…"

Seth and Kiko blinked in surprise: even her voice was childlike. The other female servants snickered at her voice until Seth glared at them. It was plain that the servant named Tikali did not want to speak up because of how her voice sounded. For a moment, Seth remembered how the servants used to tease Kisara because of her pale skin and white hair. Burying his hurt again and seeing that her head was done, Seth gently but sternly ordered, "Tikali, look forward."

Nervously, Tikali slowly looked up until her eyes met the High Priest's. Their eyes locking, Seth's widened with startle. Her eyes were blue, like Kisara's. Itami looked down and made the same connection. _Well, what do you know?_

Not wanting to show his feelings to the others, Seth spoke to her through telepathy. _Shut up._

Itami looked at Seth in surprise: his tone was sharp, as if he was upset about something. _Seth?_

Seth snapped, _Not now!_ Itami stiffened at his tone. This was not normal for Seth to speak with such a tone. Mentally taking a deep breath, he told her more calmly, _Just…not now…please?_

Itami nodded and became quiet. She knew that something was wrong when Seth acted like this, especially after he had a wound reopening episode only moments ago. So she decided to not push it as Seth regained his composure and looked back down at Tikali, who quickly bowed her head. His voice turning tender (to everyone's surprise, including his own), he told her, "You have nothing to fear, Tikali. You will be taken care of by the Head Servant."

Pleasantly surprised that she was assigned with the caretaking to the small servant, Kiko smiled and took a step forward. "That's right, Tikali. You're in good hands."

Tikali peeked up and nodded. It seemed like she did not want to speak in fear of being laughed at again. The blond giggled and put her arm around the smaller female, startling her. "Don't be afraid to speak up. After all, we don't want to forget how to speak, do we?"

Tikali could not help but giggle at such an idea. To his great surprise, Seth felt his heart squeeze at the sound of her giggle: it was so innocent and playful. Suddenly remembering the meeting, he used that as an excuse to leave and took his leave. As he turned in the direction of the meeting room, he saw Tikali out of the corner of his eye and saw her looking at him. Feeling his heart beat, he quickly took his leave. It was spooky to him how much she reminded him of Kisara.

A week later, Seth was studying in the scroll room, trying to prepare himself for an upcoming meeting with a neighboring kingdom. He had worked since breakfast and he was determined to work for the rest of the day since there would be no meetings today. He was getting hungry but he did his best to ignore the feelings. Putting away an extra scroll, Itami looked at Seth and chirped, getting his attention. _Take a break, Seth. You're going to collapse at this rate._

Seth shook his head and continued to write. "No, I can't do that. The meeting is tomorrow morning and I need to be completely ready." He knew that Atem was too busy teaching Tima how to read and write to prepare as much as the High Priest was so Seth was ready to study enough for both. Hearing a knock at the door, he said without looking up, "Enter!"

The door slowly opened to reveal Tikali using her body to open the door as her hands were holding a tray with strips of meat, onions, slices of bread, and a goblet. Seth looked up and saw what she was carrying. "What is this?"

Tikali kept her head down, thinking it was not her place to look at someone as powerful as he. "Kiko…gave this to me…and told me to give it to you."

For the briefest second, Seth remembered that Kisara always made sure that Seth was eating right but he buried the memory before his wound was reopened. Itami flew to the desk and got another scroll that Seth was done with. _At least someone is looking out for your health._

Seth glared at Itami before clearing a spot on the desk. "Leave it there."

Tikali nodded and set the platter on the table. Seth went back to work, thinking that was the end of it, until he sensed that Tikali was still standing next to him. Not looking up from his work, he stated, "Thank you; that will be all."

Tikali looked down; she had assumed that Kiko had told him. "But, High Priest, I have to stay by you; I am your personal servant."

Seth froze mid ink stroke; did she, the girl who reminded him too much of Kisara, just say that she was his personal servant? _Did you know about this, Itami?_

Itami answered honestly. _No, I did not. Nayru didn't alert me to this._

Believing her, Seth shot up from the desk and headed for the door. Jumping from his sudden movement, Tikali started to follow him. "Master?"

Forgetting himself, Seth snapped, "Don't call me!"

Startled by his snap, she fell back, landing on her behind. Itami hissed at her guardian for frightening the poor girl and Seth looked down at the brunette, realizing his mistake. He was never one to snap at a woman if they did nothing wrong, like Tikali. Seeing her tremble in fear, he reached out, prompting her to wince and prepare for a hit. To her surprise, he patted her head gently. "Forgive me for snapping. But I don't like being called Master."

Tikali peeked up at him, making him freeze again. Once again, he had a flashback to Kisara, particularly when he used to pat her head to soothe her sadness. Pulling his hand back, he quickly turned towards the door and muttered, "Stay here…both of you."

Tikali nodded and did not move. Itami, however, was getting concerned. Seth had never asked his phoenix to stay behind like this. She wanted to ignore his order and fly after him but he closed the door, keeping the two in.

After taking a moment to calm his nerves since he kept thinking of Kisara, Seth went to talk to Kiko, finding her in the gardens with Nayru in a nearby tree. Going up to her, he demanded, "What is the meaning of giving me a personal servant?

Kiko did not look up from the flowers but still answered. "You need a personal servant, Seth. Everyone in the palace knows that the second most over-stressed person besides the Pharaoh is you."

Seth crossed his arms. "I am not over-stressed."

Nayru gave a chirping laugh as Kiko turned around to give Seth a look. "Yes, you are. You're the last to bed every night and the first to work every morning. You are over-stressed."

Seth gripped the Sennen Rod tighter. "I don't have time for a servant, Cetria."

Kiko's eyes narrowed. She knew that he only called her that when he was really mad at him. Standing up, she stared him down with her arms crossed. "You're wrong. You're a very busy Priest and you need someone to take care of you. You can't do everything by yourself." Before Seth could protest, Kiko stated, "How is the Pharaoh supposed to have his High Priest by his side if you are too exhausted?"

Seth knew that he could not argue with that. But he had to know something: "Why that girl?"

Kiko's eyes sparkled and told him a half-truth. "She's very obedient and quiet. Besides, she is still scared and nervous all the time so she needs someone who can really look after her. You did that when you told her to not be afraid when she first came to the palace." She then went back to her flowers. "Enjoy her company; she's really nice to be around, once you get past the shyness, and she's willing to bend over backwards to serve."

Seth wanted to protest but he suspected that the blond would stick with her decision so he left in a huff. Hearing him, Kiko smiled; she knew what she was doing.

The next morning, Seth woke up. Today was the meeting with the other kingdom. Knowing that he was ready to help Atem, he sat up and was surprised to see Tikali setting a plate of food on a nearby table. "What are you doing?"

Jumping from being startled, Tikali looked back at Seth. Bowing her head, she said, "Good morning. I, um…brought you your breakfast…if that is all right."

Seth looked at the tray, which had bread, a jar of honey, fruit, and a goblet of wine. Tikali looked at the tray and said nervously, "Lady Kiko told me what you liked." Seth nodded quietly as Tikali put a smaller bowl of fruit on the table. "I even made a bowl for your bird."

Not insulted by being called a bird, suspecting that Tikali did not know what she was, Itami flew over and immediately started to eat the fruit gleefully. _Mine!_

Seth did not react to Itami's actions. "Thank you, Tikali. Bring the tray to me."

Nodding, Tikali set the tray on the bed in front of Seth. Seeing him start to eat with his usual numb look, she tilted her head, worried that she did something wrong. Itami looked up and noticed Tikali's actions. _Can you at least say thank you?_

Seth mentally glared at his phoenix before saying, "Thank you, Tikali."

The small servant sighed with relief and continued to watch him. Remembering something, she went back to the table and came back with Seth's Priest clothes. Seeing his raised eyebrow, she explained nervously, "I took the liberty…of washing your robes, Lord Priest. I thought…you would enjoy clean robes."

Seth froze mid-chew and looked at the robes. Seeing her waiting for a reaction, he nodded so she started to lay out his clothes. He could not believe that she did so much for him; not even the most veteran servants would do such a thing without being told. Continuing to eat, he was starting to see why Kiko assigned Tikali to him in the first place. But she still reminded him a lot of Kisara so he knew he would have to take extra care to keep his wound from opening.

Minutes later, Seth, with Tikali still trailing him and Itami on his shoulder, approached and knocked on the Pharaoh's door. He heard from Kiko that Tima was sick and Atem was hesitant to leave her side. Hearing permission to enter, he and his new servant entered. Atem, full dressed, was sitting next to Tima, who was in bed with a cold. She was coughing and feeling miserable, which worried Atem. Clearing his throat, Seth said, "My Pharaoh…we have the meeting to attend to."

Atem grimaced a little as he stroked Tima's hair. He knew that the doctor earlier told him that she would make a full recovery as long as she rested but he did not want to leave her side if she took a turn for the worst; he had seen people, both common and noble, get sick and get worse instead of better. However, Tima had faith in what the doctor said and looked up at Atem. "It's all right, Atem. You need to attend that meeting."

Atem looked down at her. "Are you sure?"

From her stand, Tarra chirped. _She's right. This is a delicate time with this territory._

Hearing Tarra and seeing Seth's nod out of the corner of her eye, the crowned princess nodded with a smile. "I'm sure. After all, we don't want to make the other kingdom mad and risk war on us. I mean…we already risked war once before.

Atem smiled and kissed her forehead. She was still hot so he admitted, "But I don't want you to be alone."

Tima accepted that as she turned her head into her pillow to cough. "Well…how about we have a servant watch over me?"

Hearing that, Itami looked at Seth. _How about Tikali? I mean, they're from the same country; they might become friends._

Silently agreeing, Seth gently pushed Tikali forward. "She can watch over the Queen."

Atem looked up, causing Tikali to bow down to her hands and knees. "Thank you, Seth." Getting up, he stroked his fiancé's arm with a smile. "I'll be back after the meeting."

Tima nodded as the men and their phoenixes left. Tima sat up a little to blow her nose into a handkerchief and saw that Tikali was still on the floor. Smiling, she cleared her nose and said, "You don't need to be down there. Come sit with me."

A little nervous about a servant sitting with the fiancé of the Pharaoh but still wanting to obey Tima's words, Tikali slowly stood up and sat in front of Tima. Tima smiled as the servant looked up and, for the first time, noticed that the sick woman sitting in front of her was not like the other royals or noblewomen in Khment. Wiping her nose and groaning in her misery, Tima smiled again. "Tell me, young one. What's your name?"

Used to people thinking she was younger than she was, Tikali said, "Tikali, ma'am."

Tima lit up a little both at the name and her voice. "Tikali…I like that name." seeing the other nod her thanks, Tima giggled. "I'm Tima."

Tikali was about to nod again when she realized something about Tima's name: it was an Hebrew name! "Ma'am…"

Tima held up her hand. "No need to be so formal. Tima is just fine."

Blushing a little, Tikali asked, "Forgive me, Tima, but…are you a Hebrew?"

Tima was surprised; very few outside the Court knew exactly what her race was. "Yes. How did you know?"

Forgetting who Tima was as far as status, Tikali held out her arm. Tima put hers next to Tikali's and her eyes lit up in surprise: they were the same skin color, revealing Tikali to be an Hebrew. Looking at the smaller female, Tima admitted, "I never thought I'd meet another of my race."

Tikali smiled and nodded. "Maybe we were destined to meet."

"Yes. Who knows? Maybe God has a plan for us." Seeing Tikali's face fall at the mention of God, Tima tilted her head in curiosity. "What's wrong?"

Tikali looked away and lowered her head. A lot happened to her and, because of that, she wondered if God even existed. Hearing Tima ask again, the servant shook her head. "Do not burden yourself with my troubles, my lady. A servant must not discuss her troubles with the future Queen."

Refusing to accept that answer, Tima scooted forward and hugged Tikali, surprising the servant greatly. The crowned princess smiled. "It's all right, Tikali. If you want to talk about, I'll listen."

Tikali pulled back, thinking that this was overstepping the boundaries. "But, my lady…"

Tima smiled and propped herself up against the pillows. "It's never good to keep stuff like that inside. Besides, with your voice…"

Out of instinct, Tikali covered her mouth, as if waiting to be teased. But, to her surprise, Tima giggled. "I was going to say that, with your voice, I'll be sure to pay attention more. Your voice is so adorable! And it suits you so well."

Tikali blushed, having never heard that her voice was adorable and fit her. "No one's ever told me that. I always…get teased about my voice."

Tima shook her head. "That's not right. You know what, Tikali? Those people who tease…they're envious. You have a unique voice and they envy that you have it. You should be proud of the voice that God gave you. After all, He knows what's He's doing and He doesn't make mistakes."

Hearing that, Tikali lowered her head again and murmured, "If He doesn't make mistakes…then why was my family…?" Before Tima could ask the servant to speak up, Tikali looked up and asked, "If I may…how did you get here?" Blushing, she said, "I mean, you're not from around here…I mean, you don't fit among those from Khment…I mean, you're different…"

Tima giggled as Tikali quietly panicked, thinking that she was saying the wrong things. The crowned princess reached out and patted Tikali's head. "You don't need to be so formal with me, all right? After all…when it's just the two of us, we're not the Pharaoh's fiancé and Seth's servants: we're friends."

Tikali looked up in shock. She was not expecting that. "Friends?"

Tima nodded. "Yes. Tikali, if there's one thing I learned here, it's that everyone is treated equally in the palace. I don't know if the other servants told you but I was once a servant myself." Seeing Tikali's shocked face, Tima giggled. "It's true. But Atem was able to look past my status and choose me. So don't get titles go to your head; that's all they are, titles."

Tikali thought about it and did remember that the servants were treated with respect here, unlike the other places where she worked. Smiling, Tima said, "So why don't you get comfortable and I'll tell you how I arrived in Khment. After all, we got a lot of time thanks to the meeting."

Tikali nodded as she fully faced Tima with her legs crossed. She then started to listen as Tima told her story from when bandits killed her people to reaching Greece to meeting Roxanna and her family to coming here as a gift, not knowing that fate had another story for her. Tikali listened intently and was shocked to hear what happened to Tima's caravan. When Tima finished, she saw the look in the servant's eyes and asked, "Tikali? Are you all right?"

Tikali whispered, "We're similar…"

Tima tilted her head. "What do you mean? How did you get here to Khment?"

Tikali took a deep breath and started to tell her story. A couple of years ago, she was tending to the sheep in the hills by her village. That was her job, despite it normally being a job for men; Tikali took it because she loved animals and they loved her more than the men. Hearing from her mother that breakfast was almost done, Tikali finished tending to the sheep and started to lead them back. Along the way, she saw smoke rising to the sky, more smoke than usual. Getting worried, she ran ahead of the sheep and could not believe what she saw: the village was on fire, the men were being slaughtered by bandits, and the women and children were being rounded up by more bandits; the bandits were a group of slave traders who resorted to disgusting tactics to get their stock. One of them saw Tikali and grabbed her, making her join her mother with the other women. Once the men were wiped out, the women's hands and feet were bound with rope and put in a cart before the bandits started to lead them away. They travelled for many days, picking up more women from another village and raping the women who had children (as virgins sold for higher). While she was spared from the rapes, Tikali still knew that her mother was suffering from them. The mother put on a brave face for her daughter and made sure that she ate the food they were given. She told Tikali that she believed that God kept them alive for a reason and that they needed to honor His decision. Tikali pretended to listen but, after praying for rescue and seeing torture, the knowledge of the horrors that the non-virgins were suffering, and hearing how vicious the bandits were in their insults to the women (especially with her and her voice), she was starting to believe that there was no God: why would a God allow all this suffering to happen? She asked her Mother that and was told, "There's always rain before sunshine. Have faith, my daughter. The sun shall shine once again."

Tima's heart broke, hearing everything that Tikali went through. The servant hugged herself, trying to not cry, as she finished with, "When we reached town, I was separated from Mom…I don't know where she is now. The last thing she said to me…was 'don't give up on faith…the sun will shine after the rain.'"

Tima sighed. "Tikali, I am so sorry."

Hearing that, Tikali broke down and started to cry. Seeing this, Tima pulled Tikali into her arms and held her close. "There, there…cry all your hurt out, dear."

Hearing the permission, Tikali held onto Tima and started to cry harder, letting out all the hurt. Tima continued to hold her and rub her back, giving her what comfort she could. When the servant calmed down, Tima smiled. "It's all right. I understand your pain. God will provide for us…He always does."

Tikali stayed in Tima's arms as she half-heartedly nodded. Her faith would need more than kind words and comfort to grow back to where it was before. Tima kept holding her until she looked up and smiled. Tikali noticed the shifting movement in her body and was about to asked when she heard Atem's voice, "I see you made a friend."

Forgetting that things were different here, Tikali pulled away from Tima and bowed on her hands and knees on the bed. "My Pharaoh."

Atem chuckled and stepped forward. "Now, now, there's no need for that."

Tima smiled. "How did the meeting go? Where's Tarra?"

"She and Itami stayed behind. As for the meeting, it's going to be an all-day affair. We're just taking a break; we all need it…especially Seth."

Tikali looked up, worried that she needed to go to her new master and tend to his needs. Seeing this, Atem smiled. "Don't worry, little one. He's just got a lot on his mind."

Tima got a little concerned. "Does he need help?"

Hearing her and seeing Tikali's need to serve Seth, Atem shook his head. "No, he is all right. Besides, you were assigned the task of watching over my love, right?"

Tima giggled and looked at Tikali. "That's right. And she's doing a wonderful job."

Atem chuckled and sat next to Tima, putting his arm around her. "It sounds like you might want to steal her away."

Tima smiled and touched Atem's chest. "Why do I need to? I already have a fiancé who tends to my needs."

Atem smiled and kissed Tima's temple. Tikali watched the exchange and felt a little jealous; she wanted someone to love. She was not the only one who wanted a lover: Seth was peeking into the room and watching the royal couple with envious eyes. He felt his wound reopening again and started to excuse himself when he caught a glimpse of Tikali sitting on the bed and, to his surprise, he felt the wound close a little. That struck him as odd: why would a simple servant keep his wound for opening even further?

A few days later, Tikali was wandering around the halls of the palace, looking for Seth; she was supposed to see him after the meeting but he already left by the time she got there. The other priests and Atem did not know where the High Priest was and Itami was left as well so Tikali was left with nothing to go on. However, when she came to a door that lead outside, she went to close it and saw Seth walking. Relieved that she found him, she called out, "My Lord Priest!"

Seth did not react, either from not hearing her or ignoring her. Curiosity touching her, she started to follow him from a distance. While he was a very private, yet intimidating man, there did seem to be something bothering him for the past few days, especially when he saw Atem and Tima. Tikali noticed that the look in his eyes seemed to be jealousy and longing for someone. The question was, who was that someone? Maybe he was going to meet the person at the shrine. If so, maybe they wanted to be alone but Tikali still found herself following, telling herself that she would stand guard and alert the couple if someone was coming.

Seth made his way across the courtyard to the Wedju Shrine, where he entered, still unaware that Tikali was following. Once inside, he climbed the stairs in the center and looked up at the stone tablet that had a dragon on it, his back to Tikali's view. Tikali's face scrunched up in puzzlement; she was not expecting this at all. Having never seen a Ka battle before, she did not know what all the stone tablets were and especially did not understand what was so special about the dragon. She then heard Seth sigh in sadness. "Kisara…I miss you…if only I could have save you…"

While her curiosity was growing by the second, so was her need to go to Seth and comfort him. Being very quiet, she started to head to him. But she was only a few steps up the stairs when Itami flew past her and landed on Seth's shoulder. _There you are! Why didn't you tell me where you were going?_

Seth looked away, still not seeing Tikali. "This was none of your business."

_Oh, so it's none of my business but you take your servant with you?_

Seth's head snapped up and he looked behind him, seeing Tikali. Seeing Seth's reaction, Itami realized that he had no idea that Tikali was there. Caught, Tikali backed up until she was off the steps. "My Lord Priest…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to follow you…"

Pushing Itami off his shoulder, Seth started to walk to a scared Tikali, his growing anger showing on his face. In his mind, it was bad enough that Itami saw his vulnerable side but to have a servant witness? "How dare you step onto sacred ground! Servants like you are not allowed in the Wedju Shrine! I don't care how much liberty the Pharaoh gives the servants! There are some places where you are not allowed!" Gripping her upper arm, he pulled her forward and snapped, "Especially when I am here alone!"

Completely forgetting himself, he threw Tikali to the ground, causing her to scrape her elbow and yelp in pain. That yelp caused him to wake up from his anger. He saw how frightened she was and he felt disgusted with himself for stooping this low. What made it worse was the look on Tikali's face: it was the same look that Kisara had when someone threatened her. After a few seconds, Tikali got up and ran out of the shrine, wanting to both get help for her bleeding elbow and to get away from Seth. Seth stayed behind, hating himself for doing such a thing. He almost forgot about Itami until she gave him a painful punishment…

At the healing room, Kiko was wrapping up Tikali's elbow while Atem listened to what happened. He could not believe what Seth did but knew that his High Priest must not have been in his right mind if he attacked Tikali in such a way. He then remembered another time when Seth reacted in a similar way: the day Tima almost died, when Atem brought up Kisara. Thinking, he murmured, "Could he still be hung up on her?"

Kiko looked back at Atem, hearing him. "You think so? It's been many moons since she died."

Tikali looked up. "Who died?"

Atem sighed and sat in front to Tikali. "Tikali, many moons ago, Seth lost the love of his life, a woman named Kisara. He loved her as much as I love Tima."

Tikali bowed her head in respect for the Pharaoh and asked, "If I may…what happened to her?"

Kiko sighed as she finished wrapping the elbow. "She died, taking a blow that was meant for Seth…she died in his arms."

Atem nodded, remembering how broken Seth was the first few days after Kisara died. Tikali then asked, "But what was he doing in the shrine?"

Atem explained, "Every person has a Ka, a spirit. Kisara gave Seth her Ka to use if need be. He's always refused…so the Ka waits in the stone tablet. Whenever he really misses her, he goes and visits the shrine…to look at the dragon that is all that is left of Kisara."

Kiko chuckled half-heartedly. "Poor man thinks he has to suffer all by himself…if he opened up more, he wouldn't' be in this mess in the first place."

Atem nodded in agreement as Tikali sighed, understanding why Seth reacted in such a way. As Atem left and Kiko started to put away the medical supplies, Seth came into the healing room with a bloody shoulder: Itami gripped his shoulder so tightly, she pierced his skin. Tikali looked up in shock as Kiko scoffed. "It's what you deserve, hurting your servant like that."

Seth sat down in another chair and took off his hat, revealing long brown hair, and his shirt. "You can lecture me later. Right now, I need you to tend to my wounds." Kiko stuck up her nose and walked up, making Seth glare. "I could have your head for that."

Knowing that Tikali was in the same room as he, he did not want to look at her. He knew that he needed to apologize to him and was preparing a proper one. While he thought of what to say, he felt a cloth starting to wipe away the blood. Looking behind him, he was surprised. "Tikali…"

Blushing at seeing him like this, Tikali smiled softly as she finished wiping the blood away. Coating her fingers with the medicinal cream, she said, "Lord Priest…Kiko and the Pharaoh told me why you were that way in the shrine."

Seth looked at the floor and closed his eyes. "Yes…I am sorry I snapped at you. I should not have done that. I just…"

Tiki nodded as she started to put the medicinal cream on his wounds, making him wince in pain. "I know. You're still hurting from losing the woman you love."

Seth nodded slowly. For a few minutes, there was silence between them as Seth gathered his thoughts and Tikali finished putting medicine on the wounds. Wiping the medicine from her fingers, the servant extended Seth's arm and started to wrap his shoulder. "I am sorry, as well…for following you into a place where I was not allowed."

Seth nodded as Tikali then asked, "Permission to speak freely." When she got it, she said, "You know…you don't have to mourn alone. You have friends who care for you and want to help you. If I may…I hope that I can be one of those friends who will help you."

Seth did not react, quiet in his thoughts. Sighing a little, Tikali continued to wrap his shoulder. Neither of them realized that Kiko was watching them from the door with a smile on her face. She remembered the message that the planet gave her, that Tikali was someone that Seth would need in his life, and wondered if Tikali would be the one who would help him recover from the loss of Kisara.


	11. Peeling Back Layers

Chapter 11

Peeling Back Layers

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

Two weeks came and went and the two most important men in the palace were experiencing opposite emotions. Atem was happier than he had ever expected with his bride-to-be. He had a lot of fun teaching Tima Heretic and was impressed at how fast she was picking up the language. With the knowledge that she was planning their wedding, the Pharaoh approached his meetings with an even more open mind, something he wished Seth did since the High Priest had been acting odd as of late.

Seth was very distracted; even Itami noticed. Ever since Tikali cleaned his shoulder wound that his phoenix gave him, the High Priest had been acting distant, as if he had a lot on his mind. His phoenix tried to get him to open up but he was determined to keep his thoughts to himself. But he knew that that was a losing battle since he kept snapping at Tikali. Every time he lost it, he would always apologize but never explain his feelings, seeing no point since she knew about his feelings towards Kisara. To his surprise, she stayed by him and did not ask for a new master. He at times wished that she would since she reminded him too much of Kisara, clear by what happened one morning.

That morning, Tikali was up before the sun, preparing Seth's breakfast. Yawning, she rubbed her eye and shook her head, trying to wake up. The night before, she stayed up later than usual; she did not plan to but, when she went to clean Seth's robes, the jar of asphodel detergent was empty. She could not find any more and she did not want to go to bed without completing this chore since she was worried that Seth would become angry with her when she did not arrive the next morning with clean clothes. After looking and unable to find more asphodel, she came close to giving up when she noticed a jar that was not there before. Taking a whiff of the soapwort scent, she liked what she discovered so she used it. She just hoped that Seth would like the change.

Once the breakfast was finished, she gathered up the dishes on the tray and started to head to Seth's room. At the door, she took a deep breath and knocked. When she heard the gruff "enter," she put on a smile and came in. "Good morning, my Lord Priest. I have your breakfast."

When he did not respond, she looked at him and could not help but blush. Seth was sitting up in bed with the sheets around his hips. His hair was falling in his eyes and he was shirtless. To Tikali, he looked like a gorgeous god; he was so gorgeous that she temporarily forgot that she was in the presence of a high priest. Seeing her just standing there, Seth sneered, "My breakfast?"

Tikali blinked in surprise and lowered her head a little, embarrassed with a deeper blush. She would not believe that she was caught staring at him like a fool. "Forgive me…"

As she set the tray in front of him, Itami flew over to get her fruit cup and to glare at her guardian. _Can you work on not being so snarly?_

Seth ignored the phoenix and started to eat his breakfast. While she was right about him being gruff with her, he did not think that it was wrong at the moment; after all, she was standing there when she was supposed to be serving him his breakfast. Peeking up at her from his breakfast, he saw the look of innocence that was in her eyes and froze. That look…it caused his heartbeat to speed up and he also felt a warm feeling spreading from his chest. Mentally shaking it off, he focused his attention to his breakfast. "My laundry?"

Tikali looked up a little, blushing again: she forgot to pick up his clothes. Bowing her head and apologizing, she raced out to get Seth's priestly robes. Seth watched her and shook his head. "She's not acting like herself…I don't get her at all."

Itami looked up from her fruit. _Maybe, if you talked to her more, you would get to know more about her._

Seth scoffed at the idea. Taking a sip of wine, he explained, "She's my servant, not my friend. You know that."

Itami's eyes seemed to narrow at Seth. _Tima was the Pharaoh's servant. I rest my case._

Seth knew that he could not argue that fact. Not only that but Kisara was a servant and…he immediately shook his head, not wanting to revisit that painful chapter in his life. Itami noticed his movements and tilted her head. _Are you all right?_

Before Seth could answer, Tikali came in with Seth's priestly robes. "Forgive me for being forgetful; it won't happen again."

Seth nodded in silence as he finished his meal and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, unaware of the blush growing on Tikali's face. Since she helped him with his shoulder, she could not get the image of him shirtless out of her head and seeing him like this only added to her fantasies. She knew that she was starting to crush on him and saw no harm in doing so; after all, he was extremely handsome and she believed that they would never go beyond servant and master. While Tima was able to do that, Tiki told herself that that only happened because Atem was the Pharaoh and, therefore, could do whatever he wanted. Seth looked up, noticed her stares, and said numbly, "Leave the robes."

Tiki blinked out of her trance and nodded, setting the robes on the bed. She knew that, when he said that, he wanted her to wait outside the door while he dressed. Once he was alone, he started to dress. Her back to him, Itami pointed out, _You could have been a little nicer to her. I mean, she puts up with so much from you; it's a wonder why she hasn't asked for a new master._

Seth did not answer but he knew that his phoenix was right to wonder; he wondered at times as well. He either talked numbly to her or snapped at her, yet she continued to bend over backwards to serve him, giving him breakfast in bed and washing his clothes every night. But his thoughts were interrupted when he got a whiff of the soapwort that Tikali used. He immediately froze and paled: it was too familiar to him for a certain someone used the same scent to clean his clothes when she was alive. "Kisara…"

Itami looked up in confusion. _Kisara? Why did you…?_

Seth did not let her finish her question: he was up on his feet and opened the door, startling Tikali. "Lord Priest!"

Seth wasted no time. "This oil you used on my clothes…where did you find it?"

Tikali was confused and a little spooked by the look on his face. But she still answered honestly. "The jar of asphodel was empty…and what I used was just…there…I thought you would like it."

Seth stared back at her in surprise. Could she have really picked that oil at random? It seemed like a coincidence but it still bothered him that it was the same oil that Kisara always used. Sensing that something was wrong, Tikali gently asked, "I'm sorry…did I do something wrong?"

Seth sighed and rubbed his temples, trying to calm down both his emotions about Kisara and the feeling of guilt at once again scaring Tikali. "Just…don't ever use it again…"

Tikali bowed her head, showing how sorry she was. "Yes, sir…"

Feeling the guilt overcome him, he turned and shut the door. Itami shook her head, not looking up from her fruit cup. _What did you do now?_ When Seth did not answer, the darkness phoenix looked up and saw him leaning against the door. _Seth? Are you all right?_

Seth did not answer and touched his chest. He felt sad, remembering the loss of Kisara, but he also felt a conflicting warmth towards Tikali. It was confusing to him…

Later that day, Tikali was heading towards the scroll room to deliver Seth his lunch of chicken, onions, and wine. She was a little concerned about how he acted when he smelled the soapwort on his clothes; she did not think that a simple change would make him react in that way. Still, she was determined to find more asphodel that night to accommodate his requests to not have her use soapwort again.

Approaching the scroll room, she knocked on the door and, upon hearing Seth granting entrance, balanced the tray on one hand so that she could open the door. But she froze when she entered: Atem was there, talking to Seth. Seth nodded as the Pharaoh looked up and smiled at Tikali. "Just the woman I want to see. Tikali, may I speak to you in the hall?"

Tikali immediately thought she was in trouble but she still nodded, knowing that she still needed to obey the leader of the country. Setting the tray in front of Seth, she stepped out into the hall and said without thinking, "I'm sorry but I didn't know that that oil would make Seth so upset."

Atem raised his eyebrow at her statement. "What are you talking about?"

Tikali blushed a bright red, guessing that Atem did not know about Seth's reaction to the soapwort. "You're not here to talk to me about being reassigned, my Pharaoh?"

Atem shook his head. "Of course not…well, not permanently. I was talking to Seth about letting me borrow you for a few suns."

Tikali bowed her head, very embarrassed with what she blurted out. "Forgive me, my Pharaoh. I jumped to conclusions."

Atem shook his head in forgiveness and then explained, "Since you and Tima are from the same country, I would like your help with helping Tima and Kiko with planning our wedding. I want our wedding to show what it truly represents, the marriage between two cultures. Also…I heard a rumor that you can sew." Seeing her nod in confirming, he continued, "Then I will leave you in charge of making the dress that my darling will wear. I will leave it in your capable hands. Will you accept this task that I have given you?" Seeing her nod with a bright smile, Atem smiled back. "Very well. I would like you to be with Tima during the meetings and then you can return to Seth."

Once Atem left to go check on the building of a new shrine, Tikali smiled and did a little twirl in excitement. She was moving up in the ranks in servitude but she would still get to be around Seth. Remembering Seth, she came into the scroll room. "How is your lunch, Lord Priest?"

Chewing on an onion, Seth nodded without looking up. "Good."

Tikali smiled softly and then jumped when she heard a female voice say, _And I thank you; if you hadn't given him the lunch, he would have skipped it for sure._

Not seeing that she was spooked by the voice, Seth hissed, "My work is more important than food; you know that, Itami."

Tikali looked at Seth in surprise. "Lord Priest? Did you…hear…?"

His eyes never leaving the page he was studying, Seth nodded. "Of course. Itami is always bugging me about eating." He then froze as he put the pieces together and looked up at the Hebrew servant. "You heard my phoenix?"

Tikali looked at Itami, whose eyes sparkled with glee. "I…heard a voice…thanking me for bringing you your lunch."

Seth glared at Itami. "So you did." He then hissed mentally, _What is the meaning to breaking the barrier with her? She's just a servant._

Itami's eyes seemed to narrow into a glare. _I've opened up to other servants before._

Once again, Seth started to think about Kisara and looked away, trying to get his emotions under control. Seeing this, Tikali stepped forward, growing concerned. "My Lord Priest? Are you all right?"

Feeling her arm move on its own, she reached out and touched his hand, getting his attention. He looked up and saw the concern in her eyes. Kisara had the same look of concern when she was worried about him…but she only came to his mind after a minute of looking into the brunette's eyes; he was too focused on how blue her eyes were. But, when Kisara came to mind, he pulled his hand back and focused on the scroll to get his feelings under control. "Thank you, Tikali. That will be all."

Still concerned but knowing that she needed to obey him more than worry, the Hebrew bowed and left the room. Itami looked at Seth and flew over to the table. _What is wrong with you? She was only worried about you._

Seth did not answer his phoenix. Though he was still feeling bad, he decided to ignore the feeling since he believed that nothing could really be done about it.

A week later, Seth was indeed feeling better. Tikali still reminded him a lot of Kisara but she was often working on Tima's dress or helping the crowned princess plan the upcoming wedding so Seth only saw her when she delivered him his meals and laundry. She apologized often for not being at his beck and call like she thought she was supposed to be but he paid it no mind since he knew that the wedding was a large affair to plan and he was secretly grateful because not seeing her as much kept his hurt feelings about Kisara at bay. But, that day, he found himself feeling an unexpected feeling towards his personal servant.

On their way to the scroll room after a short meeting, Seth and Itami passed a yard where the palace kept their animals and saw Kiko and Tikali milking the cows. Normally, he would have paid them no mind but he paused when he heard singing. It took seconds to see that it was Tikali who was singing to calm the cow down since she was a new face to the animal. Because the song was in her native tongue, he did not understand what she was saying but it had an upbeat, happy tone to it. However, her face showed conflicting feelings: she was smiling but her eyes were sad and longing, as if wishing that she would see someone she could not anymore. Itami looked at Tikali and tilted her head. _It's a beautiful song…but I wonder why she looks sad._ When she saw Seth nod in agreement, the phoenix gestured towards the yard. _Why don't you go ask her?_

Seth scoffed and smirked in amusement. "Surely, you jest. Why should I care what a servant is feeling?"

His mood, however, changed when Itami dug her talons into his shoulder, especially since it was the same shoulder that she injured some weeks before. After glaring at her, he took a step forward, catching Kiko's look. "Oh, hey, Seth! Fancy seeing you here."

Stopping her singing, Tikali looked up as Seth asked, "Tikali…what song was that?"

Tikali blushed a little, not sure if Seth would understand what she was feeling. Kiko sighed softly; she knew all about the song because the Cetria caught the Hebrew singing it one morning in the kitchen and learned that it was a song that Tikali's mother sang at least once a day, asking for patience towards others who did not believe the same as the singer. Seeing the priest getting impatient when Tikali hesitated, Kiko interjected with, "Let's just say that you're not the only one with wounds towards lost loved ones."

Still in the dark about what happened to Tikali's family, Seth found himself assuming that Kiko was talking about a man that Tikali had feelings for and, to his astonishment, found himself getting jealous. Sensing Seth's confusion, Itami looked at her guardian. _Seth? Are you all right? What's wrong?_

Seth did not answer his phoenix; however, he did ask Tikali, "Who was he?" Seeing hers and Kiko's confused look, Seth attempted to explain his question. "You know…the man you sing of."

Tikali blushed a little. "Lord Priest, there is no man; the song was one that Mother used to sing for patience with others."

Seth blushed deeply, feeling like a fool that he assumed, let alone felt jealous about the assumed male. Looking at her guardian, Itami figured it out and her eyes sparkled with pride. _Why, Seth…are you jealous?_

Seth quickly pushed the phoenix off and stormed into the palace. Itami was surprised at how Seth was acting and started to go after him. The two servants stared with confusion. Kiko finally broke the ice with, "What in the name of the planet happened?"

Tikali shook her head. "I have no idea…"

She stood up to go after the priest but Kiko shook her head. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. If there are means to worry, Itami will let us know." Seeing the Hebrew sit back down and continue to milk, Kiko went back to work herself and brought up the subject, "How's the dress coming along?"

Tikali smiled. "I think Tima will like it a lot; I decided to make a dress that emulates both cultures. But I want it to be a surprise; I haven't shown the future Queen anything, no matter how much she begs."

Kiko laughed as she and Tikali went back to milking. Tikali started her song up again and heard Kiko singing a song of her own. The Hebrew felt instantly better, hearing the two songs both clash and balance against each other.

Now far away from prying eyes since he closed his mind to Itami to keep from being found, Seth growled loudly and punched the wall. He did not understand what was wrong with him. How and why was he jealous of an assumed relationship that Tikali had? She was nothing more than a servant to him and yet she was not: she was always there to make him feel better with anything she could do to help, going above and beyond what was expected of her. Sure, he snapped at her a lot but she stuck with him and only showed concern when he snapped at her. She reminded him so much of Kisara and yet, she did not. "Damn it, what is wrong with me?"

_There is nothing wrong…_

Startled by the sudden voice that was not Itami, Seth looked around to find the source and found no one. Thinking that his mind was now playing tricks on him, he sighed in annoyance. "Great, now I'm hearing things…"

Calming himself, he started to head to the scroll room, opening his mind to allow Itami to find him. As he walked, he sensed that someone was following him but he confirmed visually that there was no one. Getting both annoyed and a little spooked, he started to grip the Sennen Rod a little tighter, trying to calm his racing mind. After a minute of walking, he felt something touch his shoulder. Thinking that he now caught the stalker, he quickly turned around. The first thing he saw was a pair of bright blue eyes, blue eyes he knew all too well. His own eyes widening in shock, he took a step back, which caused him to slip on his cape, lose his balance, and hit his head against the wall. Groaning in pain, he looked up as his sight started to fade in pain. There was the female figure standing in front of her. No matter how impossible it was, there was no denying who she was. "Kisara…?" With that, he blacked out.

A minute later, he opened his eyes to find himself standing, surrounded by darkness. At first confused, he then remembered that he slipped and hit his head. "Am I…dead?"

A familiar voice chuckled in front of him. Before he could demand that the owner of the voice come forward, a bright light suddenly appeared before him, temporarily blinding him. He cried out in pain and covered his eyes to protect them. That's when the voice spoke up again. "Seth…it's me."

Peeking between his fingers as the light dimmed to a comfortable level, Seth paled at the sight. Standing before him was a young woman with long white hair, pale skin, and beautiful blue eyes. She was dressed in a long-sleeve servant outfit with servant slippers. There was no denying who she was. "Kisara…"

Kisara smiled up at Seth. "Hello, Seth." She then gasped softly as Seth quickly pulled her into a hug. Smiling again, she hugged him gently before pulling back to look at him. While studying his look of longing, she reached up and caressed his cheek. Closing his eyes, Seth sighed and touched her hand. But his eyes were opened when she said, "Oh Seth…I see you have still not moved on…"

Knowing that she was right but not wanting to admit it, Seth feigned ignorance. "What do you mean?"

"Seth…I am so touched that you still love me…but I've also been watching you. I see that you are confused."

Seth opened his mouth to deny it but found that he could not lie to her. "Yes…I don't know why. I just…never felt this way before."

Kisara tilted her head a little. "Is it because of Tikali?"

Seth's eyes widened: had she really been watching him that closely? Kisara chuckled at the look on his face. "As I said, I've been watching you, particularly when Ms. Kiko appointed Tikali as your personal servant. She has taken great care of you…and you take great care to push her away. I want to know why."

Seth looked away, a little embarrassed that his deceased lover was talking to him about the woman whom was making Seth very confused. Still, he could not lie to the pale woman. "I don't know, Kisara." Looking at her, he continued, "But, every time I see her…she keeps reminding me of you…I just…"

Kisara put her finger on his lips, hushing him, and smiled softly. "I think I know why now. You feel guilty…because you like her, yet you won't let me go."

Seth immediately shook his head. "No! It's not that! …It can't be."

Kisara smiled sadly at his denials. "Oh, Seth…I know you too well. You don't have to feel guilty…I want you to be happy." Before Seth would deny it any further, she put his finger on his lips again. "She is a gift…don't waste her."

Seth lowered his head, coming to some grips with what he was being told. No matter how much Kisara's words made sense to him, he refused to openly admit it. When Kisara made him look at her, he said, "Kisara…I…I love you…"

Kisara smiled and hugged Seth again. "I know, Seth. I love you too…but that doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice your own happiness." Pulling back to look at him, she said flat out, "Seth…believe it or not…you are falling in love again."

Seth immediately shook his head. "No…I can't betray you…I refuse to!"

Kisara smiled and shook her head. "You're not betraying anyone. I am always here with you, in your heart, and I shall protect you. But I want you to move on and be with someone who will truly cherish you."

As she said that, she started to glow as the world started to grow darker. Seth looked around for a brief second to figure out what was going on. Looking back at Kisara, he saw that she had floated away from him, starting to disappear. He reached for her, calling out her name. But she did not come back to him; she continued to disappear but left him with, "I will always be with you…always in your heart…"

Seth reached for her again and realized that he was back in the real world. He was sitting up in his bed, his hat off and his head bandaged. He felt something feathery next to him and saw Itami laying there. Feeling him stir, she looked up and chirped with relief. _Thank the gods! You're all right._

Touching the bump on his head, he groaned. "How long have I been out?"

Itami stood up and moved to be in his view. _A while._ She then decided to take a chance. _You were talking in your sleep. Seemed like you were having a conversation with…well, with her._

Seth looked away. He did not want to talk about the supposed dream that he had: why else would the woman he loved tell him that she wanted him to move on and be with Tikali? The idea was out of the question since his heart belonged to the albino woman. That is, he believed that his heart belonged to hers. Wanting to think about something else, he asked, "How did I get here?"

_I sensed your fall. Once I knew where you were, I went to the nearest person I could find._ She then chuckled. _She single-handedly tried to drag you to your bedroom. But, when I came back with a guard and he took you here, she bandaged your head._

Seth glared a little, touching his throbbing head. "Itami, no riddles. Who is this woman you speak of?"

Itami did not answer nor did she have to: Tikali came in with a bowl of cold water. She brightened up when she saw that he was sitting. "Lord Priest, you're all right! Oh, I was so worried when Itami told me that you passed out."

She went to his side to check on his bandages but he turned his head to not look at her: her presence reminded him of the "dream" he had with Kisara. Itami pecked his hand. _Hey, she's trying to help you! Show a little gratitude for the girl who get you to your bed on her own!_

Seth froze for a second: she was the girl Itami was talking about? Feeling her hands starting to unwrap his bandages, he grabbed one hand and looked at him. "You tried to drag me here?"

Tikali blushed a little but still nodded. "Yes, Lord Priest…I was so worried about you. If something had happened to you…I don't know what I would have done." She then blushed deeper and continued her work. "That is…my Lord Priest."

Seth looked away, feeling very odd. He was touched that she was so concerned for his well-being, especially since he noted that she seemed to be worried for another reason besides the fact that he was the High Priest. Feeling her fingers in his hair as she checked on the bump, he felt his heart beat faster. But he kept thinking about Kisara and lowered his head. Tikali and Itami asked him if he was all right but their words fell on deaf ears as he thought to himself, 'I can't do this…I can't betray her…'

Three days later, Seth was clear-headed enough to return to his High Priest duties. But he was not feeling any better emotionally since Tikali stayed by his side, even neglecting her work on the wedding with Tima and Kiko, and attended to his every need. He appreciated the help she gave him but he still felt very odd. He could feel his heart becoming affected by everything she was doing and he continued to ignore the feelings, still adamant that his meeting with Kisara was nothing but a dream. Because he refused to admit what he was feeling, he decided to have a talk with Kiko.

Along the way, he heard singing and peeked into the room to see who it was. Tikali was in the room, sewing a design into Tima's wedding and singing to herself. She was both focused and content with what she was doing. Again, Seth did not understand her native language but sensed the feeling of hope behind the words. Feeling his heart squeeze, he looked away, wanting to get away from the temptation. Watching from his shoulder, Itami shook her head. _Why are you always keeping her out? She could be good for you._

Seth ignored her as he went looking for Kiko. Finding her in the gardens, he went up to her and demanded, "Give me a new servant."

Kiko looked up at him with a blank look on her face. "What was that?"

Seth glared down at her. "You heard me. I don't want Tikali as my personal servant; I want someone else, anyone else."

Giving a flower bush some water with his powers, Nayru looked up at the confrontation, curious about Kiko's reaction. The Cetria simply said, "…No."

Seth could not believe his ears: a servant just said no to his demand? "What did you say?"

Kiko stood up and looked Seth square in the eyes. "I am not giving you a new servant: Tikali stays."

Seth grabbed Kiko's dress, forgetting himself. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you into the dungeons for talking back to someone of the Royal Court."

Itami tried to get Seth to let the Cetria go but he did not listen until he heard Nayru tell him and Kiko, _Kiko, just tell him._

Seth looked at Nayru and then back at Kiko. "Tell me what?"

Kiko sighed. "I got a message from the planet about Tikali just before I assigned her to you. It said…that you would need her in your life."

Seth loosened his grip enough to let Kiko go. After adjusting her dress, she looked up at the priest. "Forgive me for denying your request…but you know that the planet never lies."

Seth did not respond as he turned to leave. His feet ended up sending him back to look into Tikali, who was still sewing and singing. Seth stood at the door, looking in on her and thinking about what Kiko said. Itami's eyes sparkled. _Looks like Kiko knew what she was doing._

Seth nodded and murmured, "Maybe it wasn't a dream…"

Itami looked at Seth in confusion. _What wasn't a dream?_ Turning his back to the door, Seth told Itami through mental speech about meeting Kisara when he was knocked out and what she told him. As soon as he stopped explaining, the darkness phoenix started to peck his head. _You idiot! She told you that she wants you to move on and be happy with Tikali and you brush it off?!_

Seth pinched Itami's beak to stop her pecking and glared at her. _Of course. Why else would the love of my life tell me to forget about her?_

Itami seemed to roll her eyes as she took her beak back. _You really are an idiot. First of all, she didn't tell you to forget about her; she merely said that she wants you to be happy with Tikali. Not only that, she told you that she's always in your heart, right?_ Off Seth's nod, Itami added, _Here's more proof that it wasn't a dream: in a dream, a lost loved one would have told you to ignore all current chances at happiness, not grab them._

Seth paused, realizing that she was right. Scratching her chest, he turned on his heel to knock on the door when he heard a yelp from within. He ran in to find the wedding dress on the floor and Tikali gone, which was an impossible feat since the door was the only way in or out of the room and Seth was standing in front of it the whole time. Itami squawked in surprise. _Where is she?!_

Seth shook his head and ran out to alert the court.

Moments later, the Royal Couple, Court, and Kiko were in the throne room. As soon as he heard that Tikali had been kidnapped, Atem had the guards seal all the exits, including the hidden ones. Most of the Court, Aknadin especially, did not understand why they were taking such extreme measures for a servant and voiced their wonders. Atem accepted their confusion since he knew that they did not know Tikali the way Tima and Seth did. But Tima had a theory: "I think the kidnappers were after me." Off everyone's surprised looks, Tima further explained, "I think Tikali was taken…because the kidnapper mistook her for me."

Now the Court understood, especially when Mahad's Sennen Ring reacted to nearby magic. Now they had reason to worry: magicians were always difficult to deal with and, if the original target was Tima, Tikali was likely in a lot of trouble once the kidnappers learned their mistake. Karim asked Mahad, "Can you pinpoint where they are?"

Mahad knew that it would be difficult: the magic he sensed was high class and the ability to come and go without being sensed would make finding the magic wielder difficult. He was about to answer when he saw the look on Seth's face and paused. The High Priest appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown; Mahad had not seen his comrade look like that since Kisara died. Taking a deep breath, Mahad nodded. "I believe I can. The fact that the Sennen Ring reacted shows that he left a trace of his magic behind. It will difficult but I believe I can find him."

Seth sighed in relief, catching Aknadin's attention. Why was the High Priest worried so about a common slave? His suspicions deepened when Seth looked like he was ready to hit Mahad when the magician revealed that it would take a day or two to make a proper trace. Seth growled, "That's not good enough…"

Mahad shook his head apologetically. "That is the best I can do…I'm sorry."

Seth gripped his Sennen Rod as Atem noted the lack of concern on Aknadin's face. "Aknadin, speak your mind."

Aknadin looked at the Pharaoh and then at Seth, who looked back at the older man with hard eyes. The eldest Priest stated, "With all due respect, my Pharaoh, she is one servant; why are we reacting in this manner?"

Seth growled and was about to yell at Aknadin when Tima stood up, obviously upset by what Aknadin said. "How dare you? We have a right to worry about her because she was kidnapped because of me.

Atem agreed. "When the kidnappers find out their mistake, they will harm Tikali, possibly kill her, and then come back for the crowned princess. We need to find them before anything bad happens."

Not liking the idea of something happening to Tikali, Seth stormed out with Itami following. The Court knew that they needed to find the servant girl but they still did not understand why Seth was adamant to find her. Atem looked at the door where Seth left through and started to wonder.

Later that night, when the moon was high, Seth and Itami snuck out of his room. Temporarily casting aside his priestly attire and Sennen Rod, he looked like a commoner with his brown hair in his eyes and wearing a traveler's tunic and shendyt, sandals, and a cloak. He managed to make it to the stables where he was preparing his horse to travel when he heard a familiar voice. "Where are you off to?"

Seth sighed and paused his work, not turning around to look at Atem. "Forgive me, my Pharaoh, but I cannot wait a few days while Mahad tries to find her. I am going to out there and find her myself."

Atem crossed his arms. "Where will you start?"

Itami chirped. _I can search the skies and try and get a lock on her. Finding her will be easier than Mahad trying to find the magician._

Seth nodded and continued to prep his horse. He knew that Itami would have difficulty but he still had faith. But he paused again when Atem asked, "How far are you willing to go for her?"

Seth took a moment to consider his answer. The revelation of the planet's words from Kiko, Itami's words on what Kisara said, and having Tikali gone made him come to terms with his feelings. He looked behind him and stated, "I will do anything for her. She is special to me. It took me a while to admit it…but I need her with me."

Seth half-expected Atem to stop him because he was a priest and the Pharaoh's right hand man. Instead, to his surprise, Atem smiled and moved out of the way. "Then you should get going." Seeing Seth's confused look, the Pharaoh explained, "You supported me with my decision to be with a servant…allow me to extend you that same curtsey."

Seth gave a rare smile as he finished and got on his horse. "Thank you, my Pharaoh." With that, he took off into the night with Itami flying overhead. 'Hang on, Tikali…I will find you.'


	12. Rescue of Hearts

Chapter 12

Rescue of Hearts

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. This chapter is the end of the first interlude, for the next chapter will be about the main couple once again.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

The moment that Seth took off into the night, Tikali woke up to find herself in a prison wagon. Her head was throbbing from being clubbed and from being dragged by her hair, resulting in her hair being tangled. She looked down at herself to see that she was covered with dirt. As she started to wonder where she was, a man stormed up to her wagon, full of rage. A tall Egyptian, he was bald with black robes that remained open to show off his black shendyt and priestly pendant that lay against on his bare chest. When he got close, a middle-aged, overweight man with very short hair, stubble, and poor hygiene shot up into view from sitting in front of the wagon. "Sir, we have-" He never got the chance to finish his statement when the man backhanded the heavier before revealing, "You got the wrong bitch!"

Tikali squeaked in fear, both from the slap and from the revelation that she was taken because of mistaken identity. The foul man stood up, clutching his cheek. "Wrong…? But I thought…"

The bald man grabbed the other's neck and pushed his face against the bars. "Look, you imbecile! That is not the crowned princess!"

Tikali hugged herself as the fat man started to plead. "Please…Master Sutekh…I beg you, please forgive me…"

The bald man known as Sutekh threw his subject down to the ground. "Mistake?! How hard is it to grab the future Queen?!"

Standing up, the overweight man rubbed his head and muttered, "Well, I didn't know that they looked similar…"

Sutekh glared a death glare and started to chant a spell in Hieratic. The servant's head shot up, recognizing the spell, and turned around to plead for his life. But he never got a chance to utter a single syllable: the foul man burst into flames and was burned alive. Screaming in terror, Tikali backed up as much as she could. When the burning corpse collapsed from view, Sutekh looked up at the frightened girl. "Now what am I going to do with you?"

Tikali looked away, bracing herself for him to burn her alive as well. As Sutekh considered his options, another servant, a foreign man, appeared next to Sutekh, looking at Tikali with hungry, sunken eyes. He had oily brown hair, a thin moustache and stubble, and had on dusty clothes. He chuckled with delight but spoke with fear, "Master…let me take her…let me have fun with her…"

Tikali paled, knowing exactly what kind of fun he was talking about since that was how the bandits spoke before they raped the women from Tikali's tribe. Sutekh turned to leave and waved his hand, revealing a leather wristband. "Do what you please…"

The disgusting foreigner giggled with delight as he opened the cell and climbed in. Tikali tried to make herself shrink in the corner since she could back up no more. When the loyalist approached, Tikali tried to run for the open cage, causing the loyalist to grab her skirt and rip it. When she almost made it to the door, he grabbed the main body of her dress and threw her back to the corner. In doing so, he ripped a big hole in her side and he sniffed the cloth, shuddering with creepy delight. He then crawled to her and grabbed her arm. "You're mine now, my pretty…"

Tikali was about to scream when an orb of light emerged from her heart. The light was so bright that it blinded the loyalist, causing him to yelp in pain, and caused Sutekh to stop walking away and look back in shock. Before the foreigner could demand what was going on, a blast of light hit him, throwing him out of the cell and at his master's feet. His fear growing, the servant took off running and screaming. Sutekh growled that a girl could give him so much trouble and left to find a spell to combat what she had. Tikali looked down at the ball of light as the light dimmed to a comfortable glow. "What…?"

Just then, a gentle voice sounded from the light: "I am your protector."

Before Tikali could ask for an explanation, the ball of light glowed bright again, causing Tikali to shield her eyes. When the light dimmed once again, she lowered her hands and her eyes widened at what she saw. Before her, in the ball of light, was an angel with white wings and purple hair that was tied at the bottom by her ankles and she was wearing white and gold armor with matching boots, elbow length gloves that held a staff with a sun at the end, and a winged headband. Seeing Tikali's confusion, the angel smiled. "My name is Celestia, the lightsworn angel…and I am your guardian, Tikali."

Tikali relaxed under the glow of the angel. "My guardian?"

Celestia nodded. "That's right. I was sent to watch over you by the Creator."

Tikali's eyes widened: God did exist and He sent her a guardian despite her doubts that He existed? "I…never knew…"

Celestia smiled. "Well, by the will of the Father, we are supposed to keep ourselves secret until the right time. But I have been with you since you were born, protecting you throughout your many hardships."

Tikali lowered her head. What Celestia was saying made sense: when her tribe was attacked and she was kidnapped, she remained somewhat safe and, while she moved from home to home, she was taken care of and eventually made it to the palace where she found acceptance. Because of that, she felt guilty for doubting in God's existence. Seeing this guilt, Celestia smiled. "Do not let your heart be troubled. You have been forgiven. Everyone has doubts during troubled times and He understands."

Tikali smiled and gave a silent prayer to God, thanking Him for protecting her and forgiving her doubts. She then asked, "Will you help me escape?"

Celestia shook her head. "There is no need. Seth is on his way." Tikali lit up a little, feeling her heart beat a little faster as Celestia continued. "He cares for you, Tikali…you are very special to him." As the light started to dim and Celestia started to fade, she said, "Everything will be all right…have faith and know that I am with you always."

With that, Celestia faded away and returned to Tikali's heart. Feeling relief for the first time in a long time, she smiled and touched her heart with closed eyes. "Thank you, God…" She then looked up at the stars and whispered, "Seth…please come…"

The next night, Tikali was shivering from the cold. She hugged herself to try and get some warmth but it did very little to help her as she sneezed and looked out the bars. She wanted to ask for a blanket but she was too scared of her captives, especially of Sutekh and his foreign loyalist, to ask for one. She did not know if her kidnappers would even give her a blanket if she asked since they stayed away from her except to give her small morsels to eat. As a wind started to touch her, she shivered when she heard tapping on the bars. She looked up and, while she did not see who was there, she did see a blanket waiting for her. At first, she wondered if it was a trick from the foreigner to get a chance to touch her; however, her need for warmth had her grab the blanket and wrap it around herself, quietly praying thanks to God. Looking up, she noticed there was a girl in front of the wagon. She had long bluish-white hair, blue eyes, and very pale skin. What Tikali did not see was that the girl's legs were transparent and her feet were invisible, thus making her a spirit. Smiling at the Hebrew, she asked, "Are you warm?"

Tikali nodded. " Did you bring me the blanket?" Off of the girl's nod, Tikali smiled. "Thank you so much."

The girl smiled. "What's your name?"

"Tikali. What's yours?"

The girl shook her head. "Don't worry about my name. Just know that I am here to help you."

Tikali smiled her thanks but then froze a little when she saw that the girl was picking the lock. "Wait, what are you doing?"

The girl hushed her as she opened the door. "Come on, let's go."

Tikali got a little nervous but this was an opportunity that she could not pass up; her trust for his unknown girl was strengthened when she heard Celestia tell Tikali that everything was all right. She got up and out of the cage. As soon as the Hebrew was out, the girl told her, "Take care of Seth for me."

Shocked that this servant girl knew about Seth, Tikali turned to demand answers but she was stunned to find that she was alone. Hesitating in confusion, she was spotted by the foreign loyalist, who immediately started screaming for Sutekh. Scared for her life, Tikali took off running. She, unfortunately, did not get far: a tall black man with bulging muscles stepped out from a tent, blocking her path. He grabbed her throat and lifted her up in the air. "Where do you think you're going?"

Tikali was too busy trying to breathe to answer. But both froze when they heard a loud screech of a bird. Just then, something swooped down and dug its talons into the man's face, causing him to cry in agony and drop the Hebrew. Back on the ground, Tikali looked and recognized Itami as the bird who was scratching and clawing the man's face. Because she was too scared to move, she did not hear the horse approaching her from behind until she was pulled up onto the horse in front of rider. She grew more scared until she looked back and saw who it was: "Lord High Priest!"

Seth held her close to keep her steady as the horse raced away from the camp. _Itami, let's go!_

Itami dug her talons into the black man's face some more before flying after Seth and Tikali. However, they were soon pursued by some of Sutekh's followers, including the black man whose face was now covered with blood. Seeing them, Seth silently cursed at the annoyance. He wanted to turn around and fight them but he knew he could not with Tikali with him, especially with how scared she was. _Itami, I'll let you have fun._

Itami looked down and, without making the connection, asked, _Don't you want to have some?_

Seth shook his head. _I have someone to take care of._ Itami agreed and was about to fly back when Seth added, _Itami…show these scumbags why they should be…__**afraid**__ of the dark._

A shiver of delight went through the phoenix's body. As Seth rode into the night with Tikali, Itami flew back, tapping into her dark power. She started to glow black and her aura started to form into a bigger phoenix. The followers noticed the aura too late: the black aura grabbed them and pulled them inside. All that could be heard from within the auras were their screams of horror as they were locked in nightmares. Itami's eyes glowed red as she could almost feel the followers' fears.

Moments later, Seth and Tikali arrived at an oasis where Seth had a camp set up with a tent big enough for two people, a fire, and supplies to last for a few days. Stopping his horse in front of the camp, Seth looked down at the Hebrew. "You're safe now." When Tikali did not answer, Seth got off his horse and helped her down. "We'll stay here for the night and continue in the morning."

Tiki looked up in fear. "What about those men?"

Seth smirked a little. "Don't worry about them. Itami's taking care of them."

Tikali nodded and pulled the blanket tighter across her body. Seeing this, Seth hugged her from behind, making her gasp. "Lord High Priest…"

Seth gently shushed her and whispered, "I won't have any of that…"

Tikali could not believe that Seth was acting like this. As she turned around in the hug, she took note of what he was wearing and looked up into his eyes, feeling a blush form on her face at how handsome he was and how he was hugging her. But her blush soon softened when she saw how he looked up close: despite his handsome features, his eyes were bloodshot and he had bags under his eyes, showing that he had either barely slept or not slept at all since she was kidnapped. Seth looked down at her and asked, "Are you all right…Tikali?"

Tikali nodded and leaned into his chest, too scared to care whether this was right or not. Seeing this, Seth tightened his hold on her and laid his head on hers, trying to make her feel safe in the embrace. Tikali smiled and closed her eyes, feeling safety, warmth, and something else filling her heart. Seth could feel the warmth as well and knew better than to fight against it, since he knew that there was only one other woman in the past who made him feel this way and he knew that she wanted him to move on and experience the same warmth with Tikali. They stayed still until Seth pulled back a little, making Tikali open her eyes and look up at him. "Lord…"

Seth cut her off. "No…don't call me by my title."

Tikali blushed a little and nodded. "All right…Seth."

Seth nodded and gestured towards the tent. "The tent is yours for the night."

"What about you?"

"I'll be outside, standing guard in case bandits find us."

Tikali reached out and touched Seth's arm. "But you need your sleep."

Smirking at how adorable she was acting out of concern for him, Seth shook his head, even though he agreed with her. He did need sleep but he wanted to keep her safe above all so he gently pushed her towards the tent. "Do not worry; I shall be fine." Before Tikali could protest, he put his finger on her lips. "Hush…you've been through too much as it is. Go…rest. I will be right here."

Seeing that he was determined to stay up and protect her, she nodded and went to the tent. But she paused and looked behind her. His back to her, Seth took a seat a few paces from the tent with his sword at his side. A few seconds later, Itami swooped down and perched on his shoulder. Seeing this, Tikali could not help but smile at this as she entered the tent for the night.

After confirming with Itami that Sutekh's servants were taken care of, Seth gave her a piece of fruit and went back to keeping watch. After a few minutes, Itami suggested, _Why don't you keep Tikali company?_

Seth looked at Itami in shock with a little blush. From within the tent, he can hear her singing softly. Peeking at the tent, he felt the temptation but he shook his head. "This is not proper…as a gentleman, it is my duty to stand guard."

Itami shook her head in amusement; she could tell that Seth did want to join Tikali in the tent. Digging into his shoulder, she pointed out, _I can stand guard. Besides, you haven't slept in two suns and you need your sleep._

Seth could not argue with that since he was very exhausted and he also knew that, even if Itami fell asleep, she could still stand guard better than he at his current state. Standing up, he went to the tent and started to lift the entrance flap when Itami flew to him and pecked his head. _What are you doing, you idiot?! You can't just walk in on a lady! She could be changing!_

Seth blushed deeper, realizing just how close he came to Tikali thinking he was a lowly peeping tom. Pushing Itami away, he asked, "Tikali? Are you decent? May I come in?"

Tikali's voice rang out. "Yes, I'm decent."

Hearing that, Seth took a deep breath, not used to feeling these feelings, and headed into the tent. Inside, he saw immediately that Tikali had cleaned her face, combed the tangles out of her hair, taken off her dress for the night, and converted her two blankets (one from her captives and one that Seth brought for her) into a toga. Remembering that Lapidos wore similar attire but also that Tikali had neither met Lapidos nor been to Greece, Seth asked, "Interesting outfit."

Tikali smiled with a blush and looked down at it. "Yes…Tima told me about how they dressed in Greece and, since I don't have any night clothes, I had to cover up somehow."

Seth nodded as Tikali sat down on her other blanket that was laid out for bed. He sat next to her, making her blush a little more, and held her close. "I'm so glad you're all right."

Tikali smiled and touched his chest. But her mind was alert and told her that this was not right so she pulled back. Seth looked at her and asked, "Why are you pulling away?"

Tikali looked down and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Well…you are the High Priest…and I am your servant…"

Seth looked at her and stated, "Not anymore."

Tikali froze a little. Seeing him rub his eyes to try and stay awake, her attention was diverted as she asked, "If I may…when did you last sleep?"

Seth looked at her and answered honestly: "The night before you were kidnapped." Off of her look of worry, he explained, "I couldn't sleep…not until I knew that you were safe."

Tikali fidgeted a little and looked down at her fingers. "Why, Lord-Seth? Why were you so worried about me, a simple slave?"

Seth reached over and made her look at him. "Because I now know what it feels like to have someone who really cares about me despite my flaws." Tikali blushed, her face showing her feelings clearly, as Seth decided to be honest with her. "I have to tell you…when you first became my servant, I wanted nothing to do with you for two reasons. The first was me being stubborn and believing that I did not need a servant. But the main reason, I sound found out, was…that you reminded me too much of Kisara, the woman that I loved. That was why I was cold-hearted and snapped at you a lot. But, no matter how I treated you, you still bent over backwards to serve me. Because of how you treated me, I got confused about my feelings since I could not understand how you could stand to stick with me." Reaching out, he touched her cheek before continuing, "It wasn't until you were kidnapped that I realized that I actually enjoyed your company."

Tikali blushed, feeling her heart swell. "Seth…"

Seth then did something that, until now, Kisara had only seen: he smiled at the Hebrew. "Tikali…you are no longer my servant…you are now my equal and love. Tikali…I love you."

Tikali looked at him with a small tear falling from her eyes. "Oh, Seth…I love you too."

Seth wiped her tear away and looked in her eyes. He then leaned forward and kissed her gently. Kissing him back, Tikali felt herself melting; she had never felt so happy after everything she went through. It was as the sun was finally shining for her. She could only feel the sun shining brighter when she felt his arms wrap around her and touch her toga blanket…

The next morning, Tikali woke up to find herself alone, hearing Seth gathering supplies outside. She stretched her back a little and covered her body with the blanket as she remembered last night with a blush and a happy sigh. Just then, Seth came in with a small bag of fruits and bread and said with a smile, "Good morning."

Tikali turned on her side and smiled up at him. "Good morning."

For a moment, Seth could not help but stare at his little lover. He could not get over how innocent she looked, especially since last night was far from innocent. Sitting next to her, he bent down and kissed her a couple of times. "Did you sleep well, my love?"

Tikali chuckled at his nickname for her. Grabbing her ripped dress, she went under the covers to put it on. "Yes, I did. I dreamt of you."

Seth started to sort the food, knowing that it would take half a day to return home. "Did you now?"

Tikali nodded as she came back into view. She silently whined at the sight of her wearing her ripped, dirty dress but she knew she had to make do because she did not have another dress to wear for the voyage home. As Seth gave her her breakfast, she thought of something. "Seth…I'm worried…"

Seth looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Worried? About what?"

Tikali blushed a little and nibbled on her bread. Growing concerned, Seth wrapped his arms around. "You can tell me…please."

Tikali looked up at him and confessed, "About us. This is different from Tima's situation…because the Pharaoh can do what he wants. But this…I'm afraid they won't accept this…that they'll send me away."

Seth shook his head and kissed her forehead. "Tikali…do not worry yourself about that. When we get back, I will take care of it. I will make sure that no one will even try and separate us." When he saw her try and protest with her worries, he hugged her tight. "You and I will never be apart again. I will personally see to that. Besides…the Pharaoh will help us."

Tikali looked up at him. "Really? He will?"

Seth nodded. "He's extending the same courtesy I gave him. You see, when he decided to be with Tima, I was his main supporter. For that reason, I know the Pharaoh will help us out."

Tikali sighed in relief as she continued to eat her breakfast. Things were starting to look up again now that she knew her worries had no solid ground. Once they were done eating, Tikali packed up the supplies and Seth took down the tent, unaware that Tikali was watching him closely with a blush. Once done, the two lovers mounted the horse and set off for home with Itami flying beside them, unaware that something ominous spotted them…

After a few hours of travel, they came within sight of the kingdom. Seth squeezed Tikali a little tighter and put his chin on her head. "We're almost home."

Tikali smiled. Secretly, she was a little disappointed that Seth would return to his priestly robes once they got back but took pleasure in the fact that he was handsome to her no matter what he wore. Just as they were about to head down the dune, Itami screeched, _Seth, look out!_

Seth looked up and could not get the horse to react fast enough: a black energy blast hit the ground next to them, knocking down the horse and throwing them down the dune. Itami ducked a few attacks of her own before she swooped down and found the humans in the shadow of the dune, a little scratched but otherwise unhurt. Shaking his hair clean of sand, Seth looked up into the sky. "What in the name of Ra was that?"

Tikali shook her head in ignorance just as the source of the attack was revealed above them: a long, serpent-like, black dragon with red eyes. Tikali almost screamed but Seth covered her mouth and Itami hid them in the shadows, making them invisible. Seth whispered, "It can't see us so keep still."

Tikali nodded. Just then, they heard Sutekh's voice ring out: "Find them, you fools!"

Tikali shivered with fear, remembering what the man did to his follower just because he mixed up the two girls. Seth, however, got confused: that voice sounded familiar to him for some reason. Sensing the men coming up over the dune, Itami continued to hide them with her powers, trying to ignore the fact that her energy was dropping at an alarming rate. Tikali started to shiver some more when she heard the foreigner who tried to take her last night say, "My Lord Sutekh…it seems they have escaped us."

Seth's eyes widened at the mention of Sutekh, finally recognizing the name: a few years ago, Sutekh was the high priest at the temple of Anubis who was exiled from the kingdom when it was discovered that he was dabbling in necromancy in trying to overthrow the then-ailing Pharaoh Aknamkanon and take over the throne. Looking up, Seth saw that it was indeed Sutekh, looking around for them on his horse, with his foreign loyalist and twenty followers with him. The serpent-like dragon surrounded Sutekh, revealing itself to be Sutekh's Ka, as the banished priest said almost to himself, "They're still out there…my Night Serpent saw them…"

As Seth was figuring out how to get away from them (since Itami's powers only worked in the shadows and they were in the only shadowy part in the dune), he slowly reached into his bag and pulled out his DiaDhank, putting it on his arm if they needed to battle. Suddenly, the phoenix of darkness collapsed at Seth's feet: she has exhausted almost all of her energy and, thus, revealed them to the exiled men above them. Grabbing Tikali and Itami, Seth took off running, both while trying to activate his DiaDhank and trying to avoid attacks from Sutekh's Ka. To make matters worse, Tikali tripped when an attack just missed her foot and Seth had to stop to protect her. Just when he got Itami in his bag so she could rest and his DiaDhank properly on his arm, Sutekh's Ka was attacked by the Two-Headed-Jackal, injuring Sutekh in the process. Seth looked behind them and saw the members of the guard, the Royal Court, and Atem riding up to help them: Isis got a vision signaling that Seth and Tikali were nearby and needed immediate help. Seth smirked as he helped Tikali to her feet. "Help has arrived."

Seeing them, Sutekh growled and his Ka coiled near him, ready to attack. Atem saw who it was and grew angrier than before: it was bad enough that Tikali got kidnapped but it made it worse that it was by a former priest turned cast out criminal. "Sutekh! Returning to the kingdom after being exiled, kidnapping a life, and threatening the peace here…for these crimes, you have earned yourself an execution!"

Sutekh smirked, remembering Atem as the prince when he was a part of the temple of Anubis. "Bold words from such a young man…but I will never bow to you! **Paca mar!**"

Hearing him give the order to his Ka to kill, the Royal Court summoned their Ka. Summoning Duos, Seth pushed Tikali to the side and gave her the bag that had Itami in it. "Stay here."

He then joined the battle just as the Night Serpent sent a powerful dark beam towards the Royal Court. Knowing that his Ka was the only one who could produce shields, Mahad had his Ka the Illusion Magician produce a shield large enough to protect the group. However, the attack turned out to be too powerful; while the attack never hit them, it did destroy the shield and that, in turn, brought Mahad to his knees from loss of Ba. Sutekh's followers could feel their prides rising as Sutekh smirked evilly: now was the perfect opportunity to destroy the Pharaoh. With a single look, he ordered his followers to attack the guards and the Royal Court, the former priest knowing that they would be too focused on the fighting to engage their Ka properly. The only one who stayed behind was the foreign loyalist, too cowardly to engage in physical fighting. Sutekh looked at Atem. "Farewell."

With that, the Night Serpent attacked Atem directly. Seeing this, Seth felt his priestly instincts kick in and he ran in front of Atem to take the hit. But the hit did not hit him nor Atem: Atem managed to move his horse away from the path of the attack and Seth was tackled to the ground by someone who took the attack to the leg, causing it to bleed and her to scream. Landing on the ground with Seth, Tikali immediately clutched her bleeding leg, tears filling her eyes. Having a flashback to when Kisara fatally protected him, Seth went to work on wrapping her wound with a piece of his cloak since he suspected that Itami was still too weak to heal her. Because he was so focused, he did not see Duos was in trouble with the Night Serpent until Duos was destroyed, thus alerting Seth through pain and loss of Ba. Having been fighting with Sutekh's devotees, Atem could do nothing and cursed to himself: he knew that he had the most Ba and, thus, could call a God but the disciples of the exiled priest kept him too busy to summon one and there was the risk of Atem accidentally hurting a member of the Royal Court because of how engaged they were in the fighting. Seeing a chance to give Atem pain without actually hurting the Pharaoh, Sutekh had the Night Serpent attack Seth and Tikali directly. Without Duos, Seth could only hold Tikali tight and brace himself. But, to his surprise, the attack never hit them. Looking up, he saw why: there was a new Ka in front of them. Looking up as well, Tikali smiled weakly. "Celestia…"

Seth looked down at Tikali, figuring out that Celestia was the Ka in question, as the Night Serpent continued to attack and Celestia deflected and attacked with beams of light from her staff. But, because of the serpent-like body, the Night Serpent easily dodged the attacks and finally attacked Celestia directly, destroying the Ka and causing to Tikali to scream and pass out from the pain. Still weak from the loss of Ba, Seth cursed himself: once again, he felt weak and could not protect neither the Pharaoh nor the girl he loved. Still watching from the dune, Sutekh decided that he had enough fun and chanted a spell, turning all his followers but the foreigner into ash: they were nothing more than products of his necromancy. Getting off his horse, he headed down the dune, stating, "Give up, Pharaoh. You will never defeat me with my powerful Ka and spells that can call forth hundreds to do my bidding."

Atem glared at Sutekh. "We will never let an evil soul like you live…"

Sutekh chuckled. "Such big words for someone who's about to die."

Atem tried to stay as strong as possible but he knew that everyone, including himself after the fighting, was extremely low on Ba and, therefore, could not summon their Ka to protect them. Night Serpent returning to its owner's side, Sutekh started to order it to attack Atem but got a sickening idea, causing the Night Serpent to react by looking at Seth: Sutekh decided to attack the Court first to cause Atem emotionally pain first. "**Paca mar…**"

With nothing left to shield him, Seth held Tikali close and, once again, braced for impact. Atem and the rest of the Court tried to get to him in time but there was no need: a shot of white electrical light shot suddenly from the kingdom and hit the attack, causing a blast and smoke. Atem paled, thinking that he just lost a man he called a close friend. But, to everyone's shock, the smoke cleared and Seth and Tikali were still alive! His eyes adjusting, Atem saw the reason: "It's her…"

Feeling that nothing came, Seth looked up and his eyes widened at the sight. There was a whitish-blue aura in front of him and Tikali and Seth knew who the spirit was. "Kisara…"

The spirit looked back at Seth and gave him a sweet smile before speaking to him in his mind. _Seth…the way you protected those you care about and Tikali…I could not allow that man to hurt you. There is a reason why I left my spirit with you: so I can protect you and those you care about…including your love, Tikali._

Sutekh was speechless: never had his Ka's attack been stopped, let alone by the spirit of a human. But he quickly learned that there was more to this spirit than met the eye. Knowing that he had to protect his friends, comrades, and his only love, Seth had to use the gift that Kisara left him. Finding strength again, he stood up with Tikali in his arms as Kisara's spirit glowed brightly and started to change. Seth closed his eyes in concentration as a name came to his head. Opening his eyes with a determined look on his face, he said in a strong voice, "Appear before me, White Dragon!"

With a furious roar, the Ka took its final form: a bluish-white dragon with blue eyes and strength that was second only to the Gods. The Ka wrapped its tail around Seth in protection and deeming him its rightful owner. At that moment, Tikali stirred a little and looked up to see the dragon. Seth did not notice that Tikali was awake, having all his attention on Sutekh, who was frightened but refusing to admit defeat. "No! you will not defeat me! No one can defeat me!"

Night Serpent attacked with its most powerful attack but it did not last: Seth ordered the White Dragon to attack and the Ka obeyed, destroying the Night Serpent, the foreign loyalist, and Sutekh himself. The White Dragon gave a cry of victory as Seth looked up at it. _Kisara…the gift you left me…your Ka…I shall use it to protect those I care for, including my beloved._

The White Dragon looked at him before disappearing but not before spreading light all around, restoring everyone's energy and healing Tikali's leg. Seeing that he was okay, Tikali reached up and hugged Seth tightly. The High Priest hugged him back, not caring that everyone was witnessing this side of him (and in the dark about Aknadin's look of disapproval). Atem rode up to the couple, bringing an extra horse for them. "Let's go home."

Seth looked up at Atem and nodded. For the first time in a long time, he was happy to hear that he was going home…for he now had a home with Tikali.


	13. Unity of Hearts and Cultures

Chapter 13

Unity of Hearts and Cultures

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. Also, please be nice with the wedding: I stressed over making it as close to what I found on ancient Egypt and Hebrew weddings. I just pray that you readers like it.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

A month came and went for the kingdom and the wedding was just days away. Tima and Tikali (now promoted to Tima's lady-in-waiting) were putting on a few finishing touches to the ceremony. They were trying their hardest to make the wedding a true unity of heart and culture. Tima had a little trouble since she did not know about Khment weddings but Tikali was able to help: thanks to being with Seth, she was given access to the scroll room and do research. But, while she was helpful in that respect, she still kept the royal couple in the dark about the wedding dress, wanting it to be a surprise. Through it all, Atem kept his distance since it was the women's job to plan the ceremony; still, he wanted to have at least a little part in the preparation. Two days before the date, he figured out what he could do.

After the morning meeting and lunch with Tima, Atem visited the palace's jeweler, a middle-aged woman named Husn. Seeing the Pharaoh, she got down on her knees. "My Pharaoh."

Atem nodded to her and, once she stood, said, "I want you to make me a pair of wedding rings."

Husn lowered her head in obedience. "Yes, my Pharaoh. If I may, do you have a design in mind?"

Atem paused, having thought about that. "It has to be gold…simple and elegant…something that will make my wife happy."

Husn smiled, able to see the love that streamed from Atem's face. She bowed and said, "It will be as the Pharaoh commands."

Atem thanked her and left for his and Tima's room. To his surprise, he found her packing a small bag. Getting a little worried, he asked, "What are you doing?"

Tima looked up and smiled at him. "It's for morning. It's tradition in my faith for the bride and groom to be separate the day before their wedding."

Sighing in relief, Atem went up and wrapped his arms around her waist with his head on her shoulder. "Good. You scared me for a moment."

Tima was about to ask him to explain when she figured it out and leaned her head against his. "Oh, Atem…you don't have to worry. We will always be together…till death do us part."

Atem did not want to even think of that. The idea of Tima dead…it hurt him. Kissing her neck and collarbone, he whispered, "If you will be out of my sight tomorrow…I want to enjoy you tonight."

Tima shuddered with delight. They had spent many nights together in that special way, ever since the day that they revealed their relationship to the Royal Court. She sighed happily and looked at him. "You can be so naughty sometimes…"

Atem grinned. "I don't hear any complaints."

Tima just smiled as they kissed.

The next morning, Atem woke up to find him alone with a note on Tima's pillow. He took it and read "See you tomorrow at our wedding, my handsome lover." Atem smiled as he got up to be dressed; he just hoped that he could handle being alone tonight.

Now settled into a guest bedroom, Tima sighed and flopped down on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she asked, "Am I ready for this?"

Currently unfolding the crowned princess' dresses, Tikali looked up at her future Queen/close friend. "What makes you say that, milady?"

Tima hesitated a little so Tikali went up to her, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Taking a moment, the crowned princess looked up at her small friend and could not help but notice how much she had changed over the past month. After being rescued, Seth and Tikali told the Royal Court that they were in a relationship and everyone (sans Aknadin who kept quiet from both wanting his son to be happy but believing that he should find happiness with a noble woman) expressed their acceptance of this. Because of the acceptance, Tikali was able to blossom thanks to her renewed faith and love for Seth. Remembering this, Tima sighed softly. "I'm…I'm just not sure if I'm good enough to be Queen."

Tikali sat next to her friend. "What are you talking about?"

Tima wanted to open with the fact that she was not royalty but she reminded herself that that fact did not matter anymore. So she expressed another worry of hers: "What if I do something wrong?" Seeing Tikali about to ask her to explain, Tima elaborated: "I'm not like the Royal Court or like Atem…I'm different because…well, because I…

Tikali finished, "Because you are a foreigner?"

Tima looked up at Tikali, a little surprised that her handmaiden brought this up. But the crowned princess still nodded. "Well…I guess."

Tikali smiled. "Forgive me for bringing that up; I suppose I suggested that because we're the same, two Hebrews in Khment. But you shouldn't doubt yourself…you need to have faith." When Tima nodded with a small smile, Tikali nudged her friend a little. "After all…you're not going to be too scared to go to the wedding tomorrow, are you?"

Tima giggled and shook her head. "No, not all!"

Tikali giggled as well. "Good! It's the most important, most wonderful day of your life."

Tima smiled lovingly at such a statement. "I know…I'm finally marrying Atem, the man I love."

Tikali agreed. "And you're going to look gorgeous."

Tima gave Tikali a teasing look. "I had better: you have kept me in the dark about my dress." Tikali giggled mischievously in response.

When night fell, Atem was standing in his balcony. He knew that he had to get some sleep soon if he wanted to be rested up for the wedding tomorrow but he was having trouble; he had grown so used to sleeping next to Tima that he found that he was too lonely in his bed. Tarra noticed how restless her guardian so she asked another phoenix to bring her guardian over to talk to Atem. Atem did not realize what Tarra did until he heard Seth say from behind, "My Pharaoh? Unable to sleep?"

Atem sighed and looked at Seth. "I guess…I cannot help but feel this way."

Getting concerned, Seth asked, "Is it about tomorrow?"

Atem nodded and came inside to sit on his bed. "Yes. I don't see why I am nervous; this is what we've wanted for so long. I suppose it is just pre-wedding nervousness…I want everything to be perfect, especially with the rings I made for the ceremony."

Seth understood since he knew that he would be in the same situation soon when he and Tikali got married. But he pointed out, "I do not believe anything will go wrong."

Picking up on what Seth was doing, Itami agreed. _If something were to go wrong, Isis would have told us by now._

Atem took that into consideration and nodded. "You're right…I guess I'm just too nervous."

Tarra flew to Atem's shoulder and asked, _Are you regretting your decision?_

Atem looked at his phoenix with wide eyes at the question. "Regret?! No, never! I do not regret asking Tima to become my wife and Queen."

Tarra's eyes sparkled as she nuzzled his cheek. _Then you have nothing to be nervous about._

Atem nodded and looked out at the balcony again. Bowing in respect, Seth took his leave with Itami following with a glint in her eyes. _Weren't you going to tell him that the priest is ill and can't do the ceremony?_

Seth smirked. "No need to worry the Pharaoh over small details. Mahad and I already know how to fix this."

Sighing deeply, Atem laid down on the bed. Tarra sat next to his shoulder and looked down at him. _You going to try and sleep now?_

Atem sighed and reached up to scratch her chest. "If only it were that easy…I don't like sleeping alone like this."

Tarra ruffled her feathers in a teasingly-angry way. _Who's alone? You have me, you know._

Atem chuckled and laid on his side, propping his head up with his hand. "You know what I mean, Tarra…I miss Tima…"

Tarra cooed softly. _Tomorrow will come soon._ Seeing Atem's faraway nod, Tarra got an idea. _Atem…you said that, in Tima's culture, the bride and husband to be cannot see each other, right?_

Atem nodded. "That is correct. Why do you ask?"

Instead of answering, Tarra flew out of the room, leaving a confused Atem in his room. After a minute of flying, she landed on a balcony and chirped, getting Tima's attention. Smiling, she came out and stroked the phoenix's head. "Hi, Tarra. What brings you here?

Tarra cooed with delight at the scratch. _I just wanted to tell you that Atem misses you tonight._

Tima smiled and looked out into the night. "I know…I miss him." Looking back at Tikali, she wondered, "I wonder if all brides go through this the night before their wedding."

Tikali shrugged a little. "Who knows? I'm sure I'll go through the same thing when Seth and I marry."

Tima smiled and then thought of something. Leaving Tarra for a moment, she started to go through her bag. Tikali looked at her from the mirror, wondering what the crowned princess was doing. Soon finding it, Tima came back to Tarra and wrapped her favorite shoulder shawl around the phoenix. "Here you go. Give this to Atem; this will keep him company until the morning."

Tarra chirped a little in happiness before flying away. Tima watched the phoenix until she was out of sight and she went back to the room to go to bed. Tikali smiled. "Do you need anything else, Tima?"

Tima shook her head. "No. I'm just going to turn in."

Tikali nodded with a bow and left. After changing into her night clothes and praying, Tima climbed into bed and started to drift off when she heard Tarra fly in and felt something drape over her. Looking up, she asked, "What's this?"

As Tarra flew out, she said with a twinkle in her eyes, _He returned the favor._

Tima looked at what Tarra gave her and saw that it was Atem's cape. Smiling softly, she kissed it and curled up under her blankets and cape, dreaming about the wedding tomorrow.

When morning came, the servants dressed Atem in his outfit and adorned him with golden ornaments. While he was still nervous about the wedding, he knew that it was the normal pre-wedding jitters and nothing to worry about. When the servants left him, Atem looked at the rings that came the night before. His was a simple gold band but Tima's had the Hieratic word for love engraved on it, an added touch that the Pharaoh enjoyed. Just then, Mahad came in and bowed to him. "Everyone is ready, my Pharaoh."

Atem smiled as Tarra flew to his shoulder and nuzzled his temple. _I was just out there: everything is beautiful._

Atem sighed in relief; in keeping with this wedding being a combination of Khment and Hebrew customs, the wedding itself was a private affair in accordance to her ways and the coronation would be open to the high class of Khment in accordance to his ways. On his way out the door, he stated, "I am thankful that we found a priest of Tima's faith to conduct the ceremony for us."

Mahad froze, not expecting Atem to say that. Temporarily forgetting his place, he asked, "Seth did not tell you?" When Atem looked back at his comrade/friend in confusion, Mahad bowed his head. "Forgive me."

Atem turned to fully face the magician. "Tell me. What did Seth neglect to tell me?"

Mahad looked up and admitted, "The Holy Man has taken ill…he is unable to perform the ceremony. One of his apprentices came and told Seth and I yesterday."

Atem paled. The Holy Man was the only one they could find in Khment who could do the wedding the way Tima and Tikali had planned it; to be told the day of that he could not perform the ceremony…Atem turned on his foot and went to find Seth, stressing out to no end. Tarra flew off his shoulder and followed him. _Atem, I'm sure it was a simple case of forgetting._

Atem glared at her; that statement did not help, especially since it seemed that Seth came to Atem last night to tell him about the Holy Man being sick and decided against it for some reason. Mahad followed and tried to cheer him up, "My Pharaoh, Seth and I have a solution…"

His stress taking over, Atem could not comprehend what Mahad was saying. "How can you have a solution? That man was the only one who can perform the wedding perfectly!"

Mahad was about to try again with explaining when, from behind the pillar, a throat was cleared and stated with a proud voice, "Not anymore."

Atem looked up as Seth came into view with Itami on his shoulder. The Pharaoh glared and demanded, "Why did you not tell me that the priest could not perform the wedding today?"

Itami looked at Atem. _Because Seth can perform the wedding._

Having not heard the last sentence Itami said, Atem's stress was at its peak. His hands clenched into tight fists, he was about to yell at them when Tarra went back to his shoulder and squeezed hard enough to get his attention. Seeing his attention diverted, Seth repeated what Itami said: "That priest is not the only one who can perform the ceremony."

Tarra looked up, her own curiosity peeked. _You really meant it?_

Itami chirped a little in amusement. _Tikali isn't the only one who benefited from the relationship._

Not wanting her to reveal too much, Seth pinched her beak shut to give her the message of keeping quiet and said, "Tikali's father was the tribe's priest of her religion. Over the past moon, I have studied the religion with Tikali's help. If you would allow me the honor…"

Atem sighed in relief, feeling hs stress wash away with Seth's offer. He then nodded with a smile. "Of course, my friend, and thank you."

Minutes later, Atem stood under the left side of the canopy that was set up next to the bench where they sat and Tima revealed her life story to the Pharaoh. The bench had two golden goblets filled with wine and a red sash. Since it was a private affair, only the Royal Court, Shimon, and their closest friends Jouno, Kiko, Mana, and Tikali (having finished prepping Tima for the ceremony) were present. Seth came to the head of the canopy and looked at Atem. "It is time."

Off Atem's nod, Shimon took up the trumpet and blew hard enough to make a single, strong note. According to Tima's faith, this both signaled that the wedding had begun and signaled Tima to leave her room and come to the gardens. A few minutes later, she came into view and Atem's breath was taken away. Her dress was a combination of Khment and Hebrew: her sleeveless, white dress was down to her ankles with her feet covered with string-like fringes and her neckline was covered with gold decorations. On her head, she wore a white veil that tucked her hair out of sight and was held in place with a purple ribbon, symbolizing the Queen she was about to become. She even had on light make-up to make her features stand out even more; she and Tikali decided against covering her face since the two girls would be the only ones who would understand that tradition and Tima teased that she did not want to torture Atem even more. The only thing that was missing was the Queen pendant, which was needed for the coronation. Taking a deep breath, she started to walk to Atem and then walked around him three times in her faith's practice of representing righteousness, justice, and loving kindness, the three virtues of marriage.. Once she was by his side, her head nodded to Seth; it was clear that she was not told about the Holy Man being sick. Atem chuckled. "It's all right, Tima. Seth can preside over our wedding."

Tima smiled and looked at Seth, who bowed his head to them. As the High Priest turned to Tikali to get the rings, Atem looked at Tima and smiled in a loving way. The night apart was more than worth it: in his eyes, she was absolutely beautiful, like a goddess descended from the heavens. Catching his look, Tima blushed and smiled back. The rings now in his hand, Seth looked at the couple and out at the witnesses. "The day has arrived: our Pharaoh has chosen his bride and Queen. May all the Gods of Khment and the Hebrew God bless this wonderful union that will be brought forth to our Kingdom."

The Royal Court silently agreed, Aknadin bitterly doing so, and the four friends smiled. Proceeding forward, Seth gave each of them a ring to give to each other. Tima was a little confused on what to do with the ring since her tribe was too poor for such symbols of marriage. Taking her left hand, Atem smiled at her before he said his vow: "Tima…as your husband, I swear, with the witnesses present here and the gods that watch over me…I shall love, honor, and protect you…for all eternity. There is no other worthy to be my wife and Queen. You are the one delivered by Ra and his daughter Hathor…and I shall always love you."

Remembering that Hathor was a Khment goddess for love, Tima felt a tear of joy fall down her cheek as Atem slipped the ring on her finger. Atem smiled with pure love and wiped the tear away. Tima smiled and, taking his left hand, said her vow: "Atem…I swear before God and all around us…I will love, honor, and serve you as your wife and Queen…until the day God calls me to join him. No one has ever made me feel this way before…I love you so much."

She then slipped the ring on his finger as Seth nodded to Tikali. Smiling, Tikali came forward, got the goblets, and gave one to Tima and Atem. Tima did not understand until Seth stated, "And now, to seal this sacred union with a tradition that our friends from the Far East gave to us: the drinking as one, so that, together, this union shall be forever united and shall never break."

Tima smiled, remembering Atem telling her about their friends from the Far East with whom they traded silk with, and her smile brightened when Tikali started to chant a hymn that their people recited during weddings while she tied the goblets together with the red sash. As Tikali returned to the side, Atem looked at Tima and smiled, making her smile back, before the two drank from their goblets. At first, Tima tentatively drank her wine since she was not a fan of strong drinks like this but, once the goblets were lowered, she realized something: the wine was more sweet than strong, which means that Atem must have requested a special wine for the ceremony. She smiled her appreciation to him as he took her hand and pulled her forward. The Hebrew blushed and closed her eyes as the Pharaoh leaned forward so they could share their first kiss as husband and bride. The Royal Court lowered their heads in respect as their friends clapped and gave small cheers. The royal couple smiled as they left to be in a private room before the coronation. Along the way, Tima whispered, "I love you, Atem."

Atem squeezed her hand. "I love you more."

Tima blushed as they arrived to an empty room. Once alone, Atem hugged Tima from behind. "My beautiful wife."

Tima smiled and nuzzled his neck before thinking of something: "Will the noblemen and women accept me as their queen?"

Atem nodded. "Yes. Don't you remember when the villagers accepted you?"

Tima agreed, remembering. "True. But those are regular people; this is the upper class."

Atem kissed her gently. "Do not worry: they will accept you. They accepted my decisions to follow my heart than marry for the politically reasons." He then chuckled. "Besides, I think they liked Roxanna as much as we did."

Tima giggled at that. While she hoped that Roxanna did not have a painful death, she was glad that the spoiled Greek was out of their lives forever. The newly wedded couple stayed still for a while before Mahad knocked on the door. "My Pharaoh, my Queen, everyone is waiting in the throne room."

Atem looked up. "Thank you, Mahad; we'll be along." When Mahad headed to the throne room, the Pharaoh looked at his bride. "You ready?"

Tima pulled away from him with a smile. "One moment." She untied her veil and took it off, revealing damp hair, as if it was just starting to dry when she put on her veil. After flipping her hair, she smiled. "That's better."

Atem chuckled and kissed her cheek. "You are so fun to watch, my love."

Tima giggled before taking Atem's hand and letting him lead the way to the throne room. She wanted to follow him inside but he stopped her. "No. You and I need to enter separately so that they can get a good look at you."

Tima nodded in understanding and let Atem walk in first. She did peek in and saw that the throne room was full with people, from noblemen and women to the palace servants and entertainers, their friends standing with the entertainers, the Royal Court, three on each side, standing before two throne chairs, and Shimon standing next to the left throne, holding a box in his hands. As soon as everyone saw Atem, they all bowed their heads in respect until Atem stopped in front of his throne room and turned to face the room. "My people, today is a joyous day: I have married the love of my life, the woman who is to be your new Queen. May I present…Tima."

Taking that as a prompt for her to enter, Tima took a deep breath and entered the room. She tried to appear strong but she was shaking on the inside. But she got a pleasant surprise: as she passed them, everyone bowed their heads in respect for their new Queen. She smiled at the Royal Court as they bowed down on one knee. Standing in front of the thrones and Shimon in an angle that showed her profile to the people, she noticed the box in Shimon's hands. Off Atem's nod, Shimon bowed his head to Tima. "Tima…you have been chosen by the Pharaoh to stand forth by his side and become the Queen of Khment. Will you honor the law by serving and protecting the Kingdom and by being with the Pharaoh as his equal? Do you take these vows and hold them truth?"

Tima nodded. "I do."

Shimon smiled. "Then kneel." When Tima was on her knees, Shimon opened the box, revealing the pendant and a simple gold crown with a golden feather on the front; Atem suggested that they use the feather of Maat as the symbol for Tima, both because she always told the truth and because it was a symbol that she could wear that would not upset her faith. Shimon first put the pendant around her neck and then held up the crown. "Tima…I now bestow thee…" he lowered the crown onto her head, "…Queen Tima of Khment."

Tima smiled, especially when she heard everyone cheering for her. Standing, she joined Atem's side, who kissed her deeply. "You have no idea how proud I am of you right now."

Tima smiled as she took his hand, lacing their fingers, and looked out at the people. Atem gave a sharp nod and sat down with Tima in their thrones as the celebration began. Music began and the dancers came out to entertain everyone while other servants started to serve food. Tima could feel her smile widen as she looked at Atem. "All this for us?"

Atem chuckled and kissed her hand. "This is a special day; how can we not celebrate?"

Tima nodded and kissed his cheek, making him smile with a blush. The celebration went on into the night with everyone enjoying the festivities; even Seth had a good time when the royal couple noticed that Tikali looked lonely and allowed him to dance one dance with his little lover. As she watched and enjoyed the ceremony, Tima finally believed that all her dreams had come true and that her life would be filled with happiness. But neither she nor Atem knew of the evil that was brewing in the desert, an evil that would hunt them down now and in the future…


	14. Ripples in the Dark

Chapter 14

Ripples in the Dark

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. This is another interlude to introduce my villainous couple.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

In a remote part of the desert lay a caravan made up of criminals from all walks of life who all had one thing in common: they did not have a permanent home, either from being excelled or from their home being destroyed. While they feared their leader and his right-hand man, they knew that the caravan was better than nothing and, as long as the two men were happy, everyone was safe from their fury. But, as of late, their leader had been in a foul mood because an outsider had been stealing their loot. One night, the stillness of the night was interrupted by a yell of anger and frustration. Looking up from sharpening his dagger, a tall Khment native with wild blond hair and an Eye of Wdjat burned into his forehead (signaling that he was a first-class criminal) rolled his crazed eyes and stood up, growling with a deep voice, "Now what?"

Following the sounds of growling, he soon came upon what was left of their loot that they stole earlier that day: one bag instead of six. Hearing a frustrated growl, he looked to his right to find a slightly smaller male with wild white hair, a red coat that opened to show his shendyt and muscular chest, and a huge scar under his right eye (one going down his cheek and two small ones going across). Smirking at his leader's pain, he asked, "Lose the bags, did you, Bakura?"

Bakura glared at his comrade. "Shut up, Malik! This is the fifth time in half a moon! I'm sick of that bastard!"

Malik's ear perked up at that statement. "Him again?"

Grumbling to himself, the white-haired man helped up a black feather, the calling card of the thief known as Raven who had made himself famous among thieves by stealing stolen loot. "When I get my hands on that bastard, I'll snap his neck!"

Malik shuddered with disgust. "Too easy. You should have him drawn in quarters." With a look of disturbing pleasure, he added, "That'll make it slow…with a lot of blood…and screaming."

Bakura looked at his comrade with a numb face, used to Malik's disturbed mind. "Yeah. Well, we need to stop him. He needs to learn that he should never steal from us."

Malik raised his eyebrow at Bakura. "Us? Don't get it mixed up: he steals from you."

Bakura growled and was about to argue when an arrow cut between them and landed at their feet. Malik reached for it but Bakura stopped him, wanting to figure out if the arrow was coated with poison first. After seeing that the arrow did nothing but a note, the albino nodded and Malik took the note to read. He then laughed and tossed it to Bakura. "Looks like you'll get your wish."

Getting the note, he read "You still owe me a bag of treasure so bring it to the nearest oasis" above a crude picture of a raven. Knowing that there was an oasis a mile away, Bakura gripped the paper and growled. "Finally, I'll get my hands on the bastard!" Malik opened his mouth to offer to join him but Bakura helped up his hand. "This is my battle."

Malik scowled. "At least bring me back some trophies."

Bakura scowled but agreed, remembering that they had an agreement that Bakura got treasure and Malik got body parts, which he referred to as trophies. "Fine."

Minutes later, Bakura was at the oasis, tending to his fire and eating a burnt lizard. He had a bag of rocks next to him, posing as the last bag of loot. Looking out at the desert, he was on the lookout for Raven, unaware that Raven was crawling down the tree. His body was clothed from head to toe in black attire; only his eyes and dark red, chin-length hair remained uncovered. Just as he was reaching for the bag, Bakura noticed him in the reflection of the pond; he immediately stood up, grabbed Raven's wrist, and threw him down on the ground. "Got you now, you bastard!"

Remaining silent, Raven refused to give up: jumping to his feet, he immediately turned around and kicked Bakura in the jaw before he could react. The albino stumbled but did not fall; instead, he regained his footing and got down low enough to kick Raven's feet out from under him. Back on the ground, Raven got out his dagger and stood up swinging. Getting out his own dagger, Bakura swung back. Both daggers clashed against each other but neither cut skin, especially since Raven was jumping over Bakura and dodging to the sides. This infuriated Bakura, who decided to play dirty. When Raven swung his dagger towards his face, Bakura ducked low enough to grab a handful of sand and throw it at Raven's face, prompting a pained FEMALE cry to come out of Raven. Hearing that, Bakura froze a split second. Having enough and needing to know, he threw his dagger, pinning Raven's hood to the tree. The smaller thief tried to break free but Bakura allowed no time for that. Getting inches away, he roughly removed the mask and said upon sight, "You gotta be fucking kidding…"

Though disfigured with a scar above the right eyebrow and two scars under the right eye in the shape of an arrow, the face was feminine. To make sure, the albino gripped the smaller thief's chest, making said thief yelp. Now there was no denying: Raven was a woman. Bakura could now feel his pride shatter to pieces. "You mean to tell me that, all this time, I've been humiliated by a bitch?"

Hissing at the insult and angered by him grabbing her, Raven kneed him hard in the groin. With Bakura keeled over in pain, she dug the dagger out of the tree and kicked him down on the ground before pinning him and holding the dagger to his throat. "I oughta cut your throat right here and now!"

Before she could react, Bakura quickly rolled over until he was on top and pressing the dagger against her throat. "Next time, don't hesitate."

As if taking his advice, Raven headbutted Bakura and kicked him off, grabbing the dagger in the process. Standing up, she looked down at Bakura, who was in pain. Grinning with sick delight, she pressed her food into his groin and relished in the sounds of pain she was hearing. "You know…for being the so-called King of Thieves, you're pretty weak."

With all the pain he was feeling from her foot in his groin, he could only glare up at her. Chuckling and grinding her foot in a little more, she noticed a gold disc pendant with Hieratic engravings around the edges and a red ruby in the middle. It was the first thing he ever stole when he was young and Raven had had her eye on it for a while. "Well…since I have taken everything else that is yours…"

Bakura glared up at her until he saw her reaching for the pendant. His adrenaline pumping, he quickly stood up and pinned Raven face first to the tree, keeping her arms locked behind her. "Don't…touch…"

As the moon came out, Raven started to scream and tried to break free from him keeping her, almost acting like he was about to rape her. While he kept her still enough to not hurt either of them, he got a good look at her. Her skin was tan but lighter than his. Her short burgundy hair could make someone seeing the back of her head think she was a man. Her eyes were green but they did not stand out as much as her facial scar did. After a few minutes of struggling, Raven settled down, making Bakura chuckle. "Finally giving up, bitch?"

Yima did not answer. Full of himself in his victory, Bakura did not hear two horses approach from behind until one of the riders clubbed in the back of the head, not enough to knock him out but hard enough to make him back up, thus releasing Raven. He looked up to see Raven get on a horse behind a muscular female dressed in a leather skirted leotard-like outfit with a cloak while two smaller brunette women who both wore short shirts, knee-length skirts, and cloak on the other horse grabbed the bag. Though their faces were covered, it was obvious that they were women; they did not hide their gender like Raven, who smirked at Bakura. "Thanks for the treasure, old man."

As the women took off into the night, Bakura could not believe what happened: he, a man who prided himself as the king of thieves, was manhandled by women. His humiliation was great, though he got small satisfaction knowing that the bag was a decoy. Growling to himself, he got on his horse and headed to his camp, hissing, "Next time, Raven…I will bathe in your blood…"

At a small camp, a petite Hebrew brunette sat by a fire, waiting anxiously. The more she waited, the deeper into her fantasy world she got and that was one of the times when she was the most dangerous. Tilting her head to the side, she started to play with her long hair and got a look of insanity in her eyes as she started to imagine herself exacting bloody revenge on the men who kidnapped her years ago. She could see all the blood and pain she would cause them and she shuddered with delight at imagining herself covered in their blood. But, before she could indulge deeper into her fantasy, the sound of approaching horses snapped her back to reality. Brightening up, she stood up as the horses stopped before the fire and the riders got off. Seeing Raven, the tiny Hebrew squealed and tackle-hugged her. "Yima! You're back!"

Yima chuckled and patted the smaller female's head. "Niva, I told you not to do that."

Even before Yima could finish her sentence, Niva pulled back to reveal a plain expression with big, innocent eyes. The blond rolled her eyes and was about to make a snide remark when Yima, sensing what her stronger comrade was about to do, snapped, "Just show her the bag, Eris."

Knowing better than to go against her leader, Eris nodded and easily swung the bag from the twins' horse to Niva's feet. "Sniff away."

Niva giggled, happy to use her ability to sniff out the difference between real and fake gold. But, when she sniffed the bag, her face immediately fell. "This isn't gold."

The two other riders revealed their faces, revealing that they were twin Syrians. They asked at the same time, "Fake?"

Eris chuckled and revealed her Greek face. "This is the third time that loser got fake gold. Sabeen, Lilith, pay up."

The twins whined, not wanting to admit that they lost the bet to the blond. Suspicious, Yima stuck her head in the bag and screamed in fury. Niva hid behind Eris, who was brave enough to ask, "What is it?"

Yima stood up and stabbed the bag, spilling the rocks. "That bastard tricked us!"

Yima's followers could not believe it as Yima screamed in fury before twirling the tip of her dagger against her temple. "That bastard is dead next time I steal from him!"

Thinking her master needed comforting, Niva started to go to Yima but Sabeen stopped her with, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

Hearing her say that, Eris and Lilith quickly backed away, remembering the number one rule with Niva: never say the word "crazy" around her. The petite girl looked at Sabeen with a look that was numb, angry, and insane all at once. "What did you call me?"

Sabeen braced herself for the oncoming catfight that Niva would give her but, to her relief, it never came: Yima grabbed Niva's hair and yanked her hair back hard enough so that the smaller was looking up at her leader, who said sternly, "Behave."

Niva smiled and giggled in a giddy way. "Okay."

Sabeen sighed in relief and then smacked her sister's arm. "I thought you have my back!"

Lilith gave Sabeen a look. "Against her after she hears the forbidden word? Uh-uh."

Before Sabeen could argue back (even though she agreed with her twin), Yima stood up and headed to her tent, taking off her cloak along the way. "Ladies, I am heading to bed but I need a little…stress relief first."

Upon hearing that, the twins went to their tent. Being straight, they could not take part in Yima's "stress relief sessions" and Yima respected that, knowing how bad it was to be forced into something like that. Eris and Niva, however, looked up with positivity; they could and liked participating since Eris was a lesbian and Niva, though straight, was that devoted to her master. Without hesitating, they followed her into her tent and began.

The next afternoon, Bakura was sharpening his dagger, still fuming about what he discovered about Raven last night. When Malik heard, he immediately laughed, which prompted a fist fight between the two men. Grumbling to himself, the albino did not hear his right-hand man approach from behind until the taller man said, "Found a tomb that's loaded."

Bakura continued to sharpen his dagger but he did say, "Go on."

Malik got in front of the other and sat down. "From what we could translate, the tomb is that of a nobleman's daughter. She was apparently spoiled and, therefore, her tomb is loaded."

Bakura smirked, liking the sound of that. "Sound plentiful." Looking at his dagger, his mind reminded him that Raven would more than likely try to steal his loot. His smirk widening to a sick grin, he murmured to himself, "I hope you do show up, bitch…so I can cut your life off…one piece at a time."

When the moon started to rise, Bakura, Malik, and six henchmen found the tomb. The albino looked at the entrance and smirked. "You were right, Malik. I must admit, I had my doubts."

Malik glared at the albino. "Once. I mistranslated once."

Bakura glared back. "Yeah and, thanks to your mistranslation, we lost ten pathetics."

Glancing at their followers or pathetics, Malik gave a half shrug and looked back at the tomb. "No doubt there'll be traps inside."

Bakura nodded. "No doubt." After confirming that there were no guards, he led the group inside, unaware that Yima and her crew were watching them from another dune.

Once inside, the band of thieves made their way down the corridor with their torches. After a while, however, Bakura stopped, making Malik walk into him with a growl. "Why are we stopping?"

Bakura backhanded Malik's mouth before lowering his torch close enough to the floor, revealing what appeared to be out of place tiles all around the walkway. "Do not step on the tiles."

Not looking down at the floor, one of the pathetics asked, "What are you talking about?"

Growling, Malik grabbed the man's hair and jammed him an inch away from the tile. "Now do you see?" Once he let the pathetic go, Malik took his torch and pressed it into the tile. The tile lowered and a couple of blades snapped together, cutting off the bottom: it was clear that it was supposed to cut off a foot. Unimpressed, Malik shook his head. "No refinement."

Bakura looked at Malik with mock shock. "Really? I would think you would enjoy this trap."

Malik glared at his leader. "A trap that doesn't let the trap setter enjoy the pain of the captured? Where's the fun in that?"

Rolling his eyes, Bakura continued to lead the way. Eventually, they made it to the main room where they found the room littered with treasure from gold to silver to precious jewels. Malik grinned with delight. "Looks like we hit the jackpot, Bakura."

Bakura smirked. "Damn straight…this is the best loot I've ever seen."

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded: "Thank you for leading the way, gentlemen; we will take it from here."

Growling, Bakura turned around and saw Yima and her female comrades. Seeing them, Malik raised his eyebrow. "Who're the bitches?"

The women were unfazed by the insult. Bakura sneered, "Raven, this loot is mine!"

Yima chuckled darkly. "And I steal what you find; ergo, it's my loot."

Bakura's glare darkened but it turned into a smirk when Yima came up with an idea: "Why don't we settle it the proper way, 'Kura? You and your men…against me and my bitches."

Niva hid behind Yima; being the smallest, she was not much of a fighter. Eris and the twins, however, got into fighting stances, ready to fight. Bakura chuckled darkly. "You must have a death wish."

Yima laughed as she took off her cloak, revealing the same outfit from last night. "I'm not the one who's about to die."

With a nod from Bakura and a smirk from Yima, the two groups collided in an attack. At first, the pathetics thought that they would win because they outnumbered the women. But they quickly learned that they were wrong: the twins used acrobatic moves to knock down and snap a few necks that Malik used as human shields while Eris showed off her strength by picking up one of the men on her shoulders and using him to knock down other pathetics before throwing him into the wall. One pathetic decided to focus on Niva since she was the smallest and appeared to be the weakest. But he made the big mistake of touching her hair like her last kidnappers did. When she felt this, Niva snapped and viciously attacked the man, wildly clawing and screaming in her insane fury. At the same time, Bakura and Yima were staring each other down, dagger in hand. Yima spoke up, "I hope this will be fun…because last time I was bored…"

Bakura growled and ran to attack her with his dagger. But she still managed to block his dagger with hers, acting like she was bored. "Any time you want to hit me, go ahead, Bakura."

Bakura smirked, deciding to take the invitation. Using his dagger, he tried to attack, only to have Yima deflect the dagger. But that was exactly what Bakura wanted her to do as he used his other fist to punch her scarred cheek. At first stunned that Bakura even got a hit on her, Yima glared at Bakura and went to attack the albino when they heard a click. They looked up to see that Malik, having stumbled backwards thanks to the twins drop-kicking him, stepped on a tile that was a trigger for a trap. He waited for his foot to be cut off but instead rumbling was heard in the tomb. Bakura yelled, "Malik, what did you do?!"

Malik did not know but it became clear: rocks and boulders started to fall from the ceiling. The trigger that Malik had stepped on cut a rope that was hidden under the floor, which turned out to be holding nets of boulders that lined the ceiling above the entrance. As the boulders started to fall, the pathetics ran to get out in time as Bakura glared at Malik. "Nice going, jackass."

Malik growled and took off, pushing Yima's followers out of the way to save himself. After getting a kick in at Bakura's ribs, Yima turned to her girls. "Get out of here! Go!"

The twins obeyed and managed to make it out without being squashed. Eris tried to follow but noticed that Niva was frozen, not wanting to leave her master. Rolling her eyes, she went back and picked up the petite Hebrew, putting her over her shoulder before taking off. Niva reached for Yima, screaming for her, as Yima got in a few more kicks in: she planned on getting Bakura hurt enough to get him trapped in the tomb. But she had to stop when Eris called out from the other side of the rock pile, "Yima, let's go! You're going to get stuck!"

Yima looked and saw that the entrance was almost completely covered. Not paying attention to the surroundings, she took off to try and get out. She almost made it when Bakura pulled her back just in time as more rocks fell where Yima would have been crushed. Once the rocks finished falling, the two thieves were trapped. Screaming in fury, Yima turned around and slapped Bakura across the face. "Why did you pull me back?!"

Bakura glared at her. He was now regretting saving her life. "What, you wanted to get killed by those rocks?!"

Yima hissed, "You stopped me from escaping, you fool!"

"You were too busy kicking the hell out of me! Had you just ran out with your bitches, you wouldn't have risked being squashed!"

"I had everything under control! Now, thanks to you, we're trapped here!"

The two thieves glared at each other, their hatred for each other growing by the second. They hated that they were stuck and stuck together. After a minute of glaring, Bakura gave a huff and pushed Yima out of the way, making her yell, "Don't touch me!"

Bakura ignored her and looked at the pile of rocks. It would take a while but he believed that he could make an opening. As he started his work, he ignored Yima's screams at him. He knew that she was furious but he let her vent, believing that they would go their separate ways once they reunited with their followers. But Bakura could not ignore a particular question: "Was that there earlier?"

Bakura looked back at her and then looked at what Yima was pointing out: one of the oil lamps was tipped over, supposedly while the rocks and boulders were falling, and the fiery oil drained down a groove in the stone and exited a small hole that appeared to lead outside. Bakura paled, realizing that it was an alarm system, and started to work faster. Yima growled and pulled Bakura's hair back so he could look at her. "I asked you a question! Now I demand an answer!"

Bakura removed her hand from his hair and was about to yell back when a hidden ceiling compartment directly above them opened and beautiful flowers started to fall on them. The albino looked up in confusion. "What the hell is this?

Yima knew and covered her mouth and nose with her cloak. "Poppies! Don't breathe in their scent!"

Bakura gave her a confused look until he realized that he was feeling woozy so he covered his mouth and nose with his coat. "We need to get out of here!

Yima was already starting to remove the smaller rocks. "Well then, help me out, idiot!"

Bakura glared at her before continuing his work. What annoyed the thieves the most was that the compartment that held the poppies let in moonlight, thus leading to the outside, but there was no way to get to it because of how high it was. When there was a small opening at the top of the rock pile, Yima dropped what she was doing and started to climb the pile to escape. Seeing this, Bakura grabbed her foot and pulled her down, earning a yelp from the female thief. The albino hissed, "There's no way in hell you're getting out!"

Anger clouded her better judgment, Yima removed her filter and spat in Bakura's face. "Let go of me, you bastard!"

Growling, Bakura wiped away the spit and started to head for the opening. Yima refused to be trapped in the tomb so she followed and started to fight him just before the opening, removing his filter in the process. But they did not realized that the scent of the poppies filled the air. Because of them fighting and not using their clothing filters, they started to feel lightheaded and their attacks became slower. Finally, they were knocked out from the poppies but not before both reaching for the opening, exposing their hands to those who were outside…

Sometime later, Yima woke up. She grabbed her head groaning in pain. "Damn…those poppies were lethal…" Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and, assuming she was with her followers, asked, "Did we get anything from that bastard?"

To her disgust, she heard Bakura's voice respond from the corner. "No, we got captured."

Yima stood up, ready to attack, when her eyes adjusted and she could see that they were in a prison cell. The female stormed up to the male and tried to backhand him but the albino caught her hand and used her arm to pin her stomach first to the wall. Bakura growled, "This is your fault that we're captured. If you hadn't hesitated to try and keep me in the tomb…"

Bakura was talking in an angered but quiet voice because he had seen how the guards looked at Yima while she was still knocked out from the poppy smell. in fact, the guards attempted to take her many times but Bakura made sure that the guards did not touch her; while he could not stand Yima, he knew that no woman deserved something like that. In the dark about the guards, Yima screamed, "My fault?! It was your flunky that activated the trap!"

Bakura growled and let her go. "Don't even think of comparing me to my follower! Just because he activated the trap doesn't mean I told him to!"

Yima turned and hissed, "Well, he's your follower! You're responsible for what he does!"

The albino wanted to yell back but a young guard with an odd but fierce look and short brown hair came by the cell and yelled at them to be silent. Yima instantly went to the cell bars and screamed, "Make us, bitch!"

The guard gave a leery look, which made Yima's spine tingle; she knew that look very well. But her fury returned and she spat in his face. That was a huge mistake: as soon as she turned around to go back to Bakura, the guard reached through the bars and got her in a chokehold. Believing that she got herself into this mess, Bakura hung back and watched with cold eyes. Yima struggled to get free until the guard pulled out a dagger and pressed it to her throat. "It's about time you woke up…" Turning his head, he called out, "Guys! She's awake!"

Seconds later, two more guards came into view and looked at Yima with hungry eyes. They appeared to be around the same age as the guard that held Yima still but they each had their own look. The guard that appeared to be the smallest had long hair but his stood out: the left side was his natural black which matched his short beard but the right side was dyed yellow from sulfur. The other guard with long black hair and a goatee was clearly the powerhouse of the three, taller with muscles and a tribal tattoo on his right shoulder. The guard holding Yima turned to the duel-colored-hair guard. "You got the keys, Set?"

Set smirked and held up a key. "Right here, Am-heh."

For a second, Bakura wondered why the guards were named after evil gods. But his attention changed when Am-heh stated, "Rem, pin him…we're going to have some fun with this one."

Yima and Bakura knew what kind of fun he was talking about. The albino started to go to Yima to get Am-heh off of her when Set opened the door and the powerhouse guard Rem rushed in and pinned Bakura to the wall. Set quickly moved in and picked up Yima by her legs; once her legs were fully on his shoulders, Am-heh entered and picked up her upper body. All the while, Yima was struggling and screaming bloody murder. Rem looked behind him with a smirk. "You guys go ahead. I'll be right there."

Set and Am-heh nodded and left with a screaming and thrashing Yima. After a few seconds, Rem punched Bakura in the gut and smirked as the albino hunched over in pain. "A word of advice: behave or we'll come after you. We take whatever we want when we want."

As he turned to join his comrades, Bakura pulled out his hidden dagger and stood up, stabbing Rem in the back, killing him. Smirking to himself, Bakura took back his blade and licked the blood before sarcastically stating, "A word of advice: never turn your back on a prisoner."

Just then, there was a very loud scream that did not sound human coming from the same direction of where Set and Am-heh carried Yima off to. His head snapping up, Bakura wondered what it was when, to his surprise, he felt a touch of fear where he heard the sickening sound of Set and Am-heh being attacked. Grabbing the key Set left, he ran towards the screams and froze at the sight before him: Set and Am-heh lay in front of Yima, dead from huge cuts across their chests from a bladed weapon. Yima was on her knees, her outfit ripped where she now had shorts and a short shirt, revealing a huge scar on her side, and with her head down. But what was the most frightening was there was something humanoid coming out of Yima's back. The stomach attached to Yima's back, it was very pale with black hair and red eyes with a black line under the left eye and it held a black scythe. Seeing Bakura, the creature smirked evilly and held up its finger to its lips before disappearing. When the humanoid creature was gone, Yima collapsed, unconscious. Bakura went forward and turned her over. Confirming that she was alive, he then looked down at her. He hated to admit but she was very attractive. Still, he muttered, "But stings like a viper…"

Standing up, Bakura started to leave since he knew that this was his chance to leave but he stopped when he noticed that there were four swords against the wall. It was clear that there was another guard in the group that was not there for some reason. Looking back at Yima, Bakura realized that, when the last guard came back, he would kill Yima in retaliation. Even if the idea was appealing, his pride refused to let someone else kill Yima. Growling to himself, he put Yima on his shoulders before finding a stable and taking off with a couple of horses and supplies.

Hours later, Yima woke up, groaning in pain. She snapped to attack mode when she heard Bakura said, "Welcome back."

To her surprise, she was propped up against a few blankets in front of a fire with Bakura on the other side of the fire. Next to Bakura were two sticks holding burnt lizards and onions. She demanded to know what was going on and Bakura stated with a glare, "Show me a little gratitude or you won't get dinner."

Yima hissed at him but she still held out her hand for her dinner. Bakura chuckled and shook his head. "Say thank you for saving your life."

Annoyed, Yima stood up and walked to him, snatching a lizard and a few onions for herself. Bakura growled, "How about a little gratitude?! I could have left you behind to be killed!"

Yima glared at him. She then muttered a sarcastic and half-hearted "Thank you" before going back to her original position. The albino sneered at her. "Why did I even try?"

Yima did not answer. She knew that she owed him for saving her life because it would have been easy to leave her behind. But her pride refused to let her thank him so she ate her food in silence. Bakura took a bite of his lizard and then noticed how she ate. Unlike other women who always ate their food politely, Yima ate like a man, ripping the lizard apart with her teeth, clawing the onion apart, and licking her fingers clean. To his surprise, Bakura found this erotic and continued to stare at her. The scarred girl did not realize that she was being stared at until she looked up from her picked-clean lizard and saw his stare. Glaring, she threw the stick at his face. "Stop staring, you pervert!"

Ducking away from the stick, Bakura growled, "Keep this up and I'll kill you!"

Yima held open her arms with a mocking look on her face. "Go ahead! You'd be doing me a favor!"

Finishing his lizard, Bakura tossed away the bones and gave Yima a hard look. "As much as I want to do that, I can't."

Yima laughed. "Too scared to kill a bitch like me?"

Bakura got up and went up to her to slap her. The female glared up at him and was about to attack him when the albino pointed out, "The moment Ra wakes up, we'll be at the mercy of the desert."

Yima's eyes widened at that fact, for she knew that Bakura was right: if they wanted to survive the desert, they need to work together. Finishing her onions, she sulked against her blankets. Bakura took out his dagger and started to sharpen it. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you in a few hours to stand guard."

Yima kicked sand in his direction. "Shut up! You have no right to order me around!"

Getting a pebble, Bakura threw it at Yima, hitting her forehead. "Shut your mouth or I'll leave you behind to die in the desert!"

Yima hissed but stayed fairly quiet afterwards. Nodding, Bakura went back to his dagger. "With any luck, Ra will be kind to us."

Wrapping herself up in a blanket, Yima laughed. "Putting your faith in something that doesn't exist? You're even more pathetic than I thought."

The albino raised his eyebrow at that. "What does that mean?"

Yima gave Bakura a look. "What do you think? Wake up, you reject; neither your gods nor my god exists…they're nothing more than tricks and illusions to scare people into doing anything." As he laid down, she muttered to himself, "No one will save you…not ever. When evil storms into your life…no one will save you."

As she dozed off, Bakura found himself wondering what Yima meant by that. Even after everything that happened to him with Kul Elna, he still kept his faith in the gods because, while he watched his fellow villagers being dumped in the melted gold, he felt an evil presence that he could only describe as godly. Not only that but he had extraordinary luck with tomb robbing, luck that could have only come from being watched over by something. Shaking his head, the albino looked at Yima and was surprised. She looked at peace in her sleep, as if she was a regular girl. The fire made her face glow, showing off her lightly tanned skin and scars on her face and side. There was no denying that she was beautiful, scars and all, because of that, Bakura shook his head as he thought of her vicious nature. "What a waste…"

The next day, they started out on their return journey. It was very rough for a few reasons: the journey back to the tomb alone took two days, it was unbearably hot, and the two thieves constantly bickered. Bakura wanted to kill her to end his misery but he knew that two had a better chance of surviving the desert than one. What annoyed Bakura the most was that Yima seemed to know that and took great pleasure in needling the albino whenever she could. He did his best to not give into his killer instinct but, when they set up camp at the tomb, he had enough. He stormed up to Yima and roughly spun her around to make her look at him. "That is it! I have had it with you!"

Yima smirked darkly. "Nothing you can do. Don't forget, we need each other to survive."

Bakura smirked back. "Not anymore."

Yima was about to argue back when she figured out what he meant: their camps were only a half a day journey and one person could survive that journey. Not wanting to be left behind, she attempted to knee him in the groin but Bakura was ready: knocking her knee away, he spun her around and tightly wrapped his arms around her. "Nice try, bitch."

Yima started to struggle when something unexpected happened: she felt a craving, thanks to his right arm being across her breasts. What was worse was that Eris and Niva were not there to calm the craves. She struggled but half-heartedly because her movements made her body rub more against his arms, intensifying the craves. "Let go…of me…"

Bakura noticed and grinned. "Oh ho…this turns you on, huh?" Yima shook her head but her body was saying yes. Because of this, Bakura could not resist…

Minutes later, Bakura was tending to a fire to warm their sweat-kissed bodies. Looking back, he asked Yima, "Warm enough?"

Laying on her side, Yima nodded. They then remained silent, not sure what to say about what just happened. If someone had told them that they would eventually do it, they would have laughed. But now, not only did they do it, they actually enjoyed it. Yima was especially surprised because, after her hell of a life, she thought that her body would never react positively to a man but her body enjoyed Bakura and the hardcore pleasure that made her followers seem unskilled. Bakura himself enjoyed it, especially since she was on her stomach and they were mostly clothed for the session. As he went to get some onions, Yima stated, "You're quite skilled."

Bakura looked up and nodded. He was still confused so he decided to change the subject. "Where did your scars come from?"

Yima looked up at him. She knew what he was doing and secretly appreciated it. "You first."

Bakura killed a couple of lizards and started to roast them as he stated that he gave himself the scar to remind himself of the promise he made to kill the Pharaoh for what happened to his village Kul Elna. When Yima heard that his village was slaughtered, she sat up and opened up a little to him with the fact that they were similar: her clan, including her parents and little sister, was slaughtered by bandits and she was taken where she suffered every form of pain from her capturers. Her facial scar was a permanent mark they gave her and the scar on her side came from when the bandits tried to kill her when they grew bored with her. But she noted, "After I got the scar, I blacked out…and, when I woke up, there were bodies everywhere…"

Bakura guessed that it was because of the creature he saw coming out of her back. Yima then asked, "Where does this leave us? We know each other's pasts, had a great screw…now what?"

Bakura did not know how to answer: most of him wanted her to leave him away but there was a small part of him that saw the benefits of her joining him, both from a thieving and pleasurable perspective. Unable to reply, he said, "Get some sleep. We'll be back with our people tomorrow."

Yima nodded and laid down, giving Bakura first watch. She was feeling the same way as Bakura: she knew that love did not exist so she could only see Bakura as a good comrade. But would her followers feel the same way?

The next day, they came back to their followers, who banded together to find their followers. Niva was especially happy to see Yima, who tackled her to the ground in tears. Bakura looked down at Niva. "You like little girls, bitch?"

Yima glared up at Bakura, feeling like maybe teaming with Bakura was not a good idea since they did nothing but bicker all the time. Malik crossed his arms and growled, "Good, you're back. Now we can get these bitches out of our sight."

Yima's followers glared at him. Eris then smirked and stated, "Fine, we'll go but you can keep the whiny one as a prize."

Malik grabbed Eris' arm with an angered look. "Don't even kid about that, wench. We don't work with bitches, especially that one."

Yima stood up and pulled Eris back to slap her. "Don't you even think of giving away Niva!"

To her surprise, Niva giggled and Eris gave Yima a calm look. "Not her…"

Just then, there was the sound of yelling coming from the camp. Bakura asked his right-hand man, "Who the hell did you pick up?"

Malik smirked and led the way for the group. "We didn't pick her up. A passing caravan dumped her on us. We would have killed her but she says that she knows of a great treasure."

Bakura and Yima's heads perked up. After the failed pillaging for the tomb, they wanted to find a treasure to make them feel better. They soon came up to the girl, who hog-tied and hanging from a horse. What everyone did not know was that the girl was Roxanna. Seeing them, she screamed, "Let me go! Do you have any idea who I am?! I am a princess of Greece!"

Yima looked back at Eris. "Isn't that your home, Eris?"

Eris nodded but stayed quiet because she did not recognize Roxanna as royalty. Lilith said in a teasing tone, "How can she be a princess? She doesn't even have any jewelry on her…"

Sabeen added, "Nor is she that pretty."

Roxanna growled and continued to struggle to get free. Not believing that she was a princess, Bakura started to leave and said, "Men, have a little fun with her.

The nearby followers looked at Roxanna with leery eyes. Panicking, Roxanna yelled at Bakura, "Help me and I'll let you have the Pharaoh's treasure!"

His attention grabbed, Bakura turned around and cut the rope that dangled her from the horse. Yima scoffed and looked away in disgust. "I can't believe you think she's telling the truth."

Before Bakura could argue back, Roxanna blurted out, "Believe me! I'll let you have his treasure if you help me kill him and that man-stealing wench Tima!"

Gasps were heard from Yima's followers as Yima's eyes widened to a crazed look and her head slowly turned to the Greek. "What…did you just say?" Before Roxanna could respond, Yima raced to Roxanna and grabbed her neck. "She's alive?! Tima is alive?! Tell me now, bitch!"

Roxanna squeaked, in fear for her life. Yima's girls backed away, afraid as well for they had never seen their leader act like this. Bakura and Malik, however, raised their eyebrow. Growing impatient, the scarred Hebrew screamed, "Answer me! You're telling me that Tima is alive?!

Wincing in fear, Roxanna still nodded. "Yes…she stole the Pharaoh from me. Can you…?"

Dropping Roxanna but still furious, Yima hissed, "…kill her? Consider it done."

Roxanna scooted away from Yima as much as she could. Hating being left in the dark, Bakura demanded, "Okay, will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Yima grit her teeth, not looking at Bakura. "Remember I told you I lost my sister in the raid?"

Malik was confused about what she meant by a raid but he and Bakura figured out why Yima was so upset: Tima was that sister. Bakura smirked in amusement as Malik, without thinking, asked, "You mean this bitch is related to the Queen of Khment?"

That caused Yima to snap, having had all the pieces put together: not only was Tima alive, she was the Queen of Khment and living a better life as compared to Yima, who lived through hell. Throwing her dagger at Malik (who managed to duck), the Hebrew turned around and started to strangle Roxanna. Her girls tried to pull her off Roxanna but the Hebrew was bent on killing the Greek until Bakura pushed the women away and put his dagger to Yima's throat. "You kill her, we'll have no way of finding the palace so you can kill your sister and I can get the gold."

Yima hissed but she knew that he was right so she let Roxanna go and stood up. Roxanna smiled her thanks to Bakura but the smile quickly faded when Bakura cut her feet binding and made her stand up. As he tied her wrist bindings to the horse, he stated, "Lead the way, bitch."

Roxanna was afraid of Bakura but believed that he was not as bad as Yima, especially with him agreeing to help get revenge of the royal couple. As Malik went to tell the pathetics to pack up for a long journey, Bakura looked at Yima. "Looks like you and I will be teaming up again."

Not looking at him, Yima nodded. "Yes…just as long as I can kill my bitch of a sister."

Bakura smirked. This was perfect: they would both get the treasure of the Pharaoh and get revenge on each member of the royal couple. Looking out at the horizon, the albino thought to himself, 'Just you wait, Pharaoh…"


	15. A Welcomed Surprise

Chapter 15

A Welcomed Surprise

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. **

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

A month had gone by since the wedding and Tima thoroughly enjoyed her new life as Atem's wife and Queen. Because she was Queen, she was not needed at the daily meetings to discuss political affairs so she filled her days with either continuing her studies or helping with making new monuments, either of the Kas or of their gods; if it was the latter, she only approved where the statues would go and the sculptor respected her faith. However all of that was put on hold when she was taken ill. Now bed-ridden, she tried to keep her spirits up around Atem and her lady-in-waiting (and now Seth's wife) Tikali, who was in charge of caring for her when Atem was at his meetings. Tima thought it was just a bad case of the flu but then the truth came out…

That morning, Tikali had called for the medicine woman to make a remedy for Tima. As they were waiting, Tima was munching on some bread and praying that she would not throw it up. Whining in frustration, she laid down and wondered, "Why am I not better yet?"

Tikali chuckled as she prepared a goblet of sweet wine for Tima. "These things take time."

Tima looked at her friend. "Perhaps. But, while I'm stuck here, I'm not performing my queenly duties."

Bringing over the goblet, Tikali pointed out, "You need to be healthy first."

Before Tima could argue, Tarra's voice rang out. _You need to stop worrying; that will only make you sicker._

Tima smiled as Tarra flew in and landed next to her head. "Atem ask you to check on me?"

Tarra nodded and nuzzled her. _Yep. The meeting is running a little late so he wanted me to see how you were doing._

Tima shrugged a little as Tikali stood up. "Since you're here, Tarra, I'm going to see what's taking the medicine woman so long."

Tarra nodded as Tikali left. As the phoenix turned to talk to her guardian's wife, her eyes glanced at her stomach and she gave a little squawk of surprise. Jumping from the sudden noise, the Hebrew asked, "Everything okay?"

Tarra's eyes twinkled, for she now knew the truth about the illness. _Oh yes…everything is just fine._

Sensing that there was something else behind that answer, Tima started to demand an answer when Atem came in. "Hey, how you doing?"

As she flew out, Tarra told both of them, _She's going to be just fine._

Now alone, Atem raised his eyebrow at Tima, who shrugged. "Don't look at me; she hasn't told me a thing."

Shrugging it off, Atem sat next to his wife and started stroking her hair. "How you feeling, my love?"

Tima smiled up at him. While she was grateful to see him, she did not want to keep him from his job. "Getting by. I'm not taking you away from anything, am I?"

Atem shook his head. "No, the meeting's over so I can take care of you for the rest of the day."

The Queen smiled and laid her head on his lap. "You don't have to, you know. If you're needed elsewhere…"

"…I will go where I am needed and, now, my wife needs me."

Tima took his hand and kissed it gently. "I love you so much."

"And I love you," he said with a smile. "And I will forever."

Tima smiled as there was a knock at the door. When Atem granted entrance, it was Tikali with the medicine woman and Seth, who stated, "We need you, Pharaoh; Lapidos got a message from the leader of Greece addressed to you."

The royal couple sat up, curious with what Seth said. Tima asked, "So what does that mean?"

Seth shrugged. He himself was bothered since he was still suspicious of any type of communication from Greece since he always believed that Lapidos would get something bad one day and would withhold information from them. "I'm not sure but he did not seem too concerned."

More optimistic than his right hand man, Atem nodded, knowing that Tima would be all right now that the medicine woman was here. Kissing her wife gently, he told her that he would be right back and left with Seth. Sitting up, Tima looked at the medicine woman, who bowed to her. "My Queen. What seems to be troubling you?"

Tima winced a little at a wave of illness before saying, "I just can't seem to get better."

Standing up, the medicine woman moved to a nearby table to spread out her ingredients for a range of illnesses. "Oh dear. Can you tell me your symptoms?"

Tima nodded. "Well, I don't have a fever; Tikali keeps feeling my forehead and confirming that. I'm hardly able to even look at food, let alone eat it and keep it down. I'm always tired, no matter how much sleep I get, and I keep getting headaches."

The medicine woman's head lifted a little; the symptoms sounded familiar, especially since she knew how long she and the Pharaoh had been married. Stepping forward, she first said, "Forgive me, my Queen."

Tima raised her eyebrow and Tikali took a step forward to protect her friend if need be. To the Hebrews' surprise, the medicine woman started to squeeze Tima's breasts. Blushing, Tima demanded, "What are you doing?"

Continuing the exam, the medicine woman asked gently, "Forgive me, my Queen, but when was the last time you bled?"

Tima though for a moment and froze. Her illness was starting to make sense.

The meeting with Lapidos went longer than expected because the Greek had to translate the letter and he had gotten rusty from living in Khment. When it was finally translated and discovered to be an alert that the Caesar was sending a politician down to look at a piece of land for a possible embassy, Atem left for his bedchambers. Seth followed, not thrilled by the letter. "Why must they take some of our land?"

Itami pointed out, _It may be easier for them with their travels. Besides, it could come in handy for Lapidos in the long run._

Seth smirked in amusement. "I highly doubt that will work. One touch from Ra and they'll be running back home."

Itami chirped a laughing chirp in agreement, already imagining the Greeks complaining about the heat. Seth then turned to Atem. "My Pharaoh, where is Tarra?"

A little distracted with wanting an update on Tima, Atem shrugged. "After she left Tima, I haven't seen her. When I try to contact her, she just says that she's busy."

_And I was_, came a voice from above. Atem looked up and smiled as Tarra came down to his shoulder. "Hey, you. Where have you been?"

Tarra was at the highest peak she could find, praying to her god for blessings to her guardian's family, but she did not tell Atem that: instead, she answered with, _Go be with Tima first._ Seeing Atem's raised eyebrow, Tarra's eyes sparkled. _You'll see._

Atem looked back at Seth before going to the bedchambers. Both curious and concerned, Seth and Itami followed. Just as they arrived, the medicine woman was exiting with a small bowl. Seeing Atem, she bowed her head and he asked, "How's my wife?"

Not wanting to look her god in the eye, she said, "She will be all right; she just needs to rest." When Atem sighed in relief, the medicine woman added, "She's waiting for you."

As she tried to leave, Atem stopped her with, "Do you know what she has?"

The medicine woman smiled and turned her head a little to answer. "She told me that she wants to tell you herself." With that, she left.

Now more confused than ever, Atem and Tarra entered. Both sitting on the bed, the two Hebrews looked up with smiles. Atem politely asked, "Tikali, can you excuse us?"

Tikali bowed her head. "Of course." On her way out, she asked Tima, "Can I tell Seth?" Off Tima's nod, the lady in waiting left.

Tarra's eyes sparkled at Tima before flying to her perch to give the married couple a little space. Atem looked at Tima. "Tell Seth what?"

Tima smiled and sat up a little. "Sit down. Something amazing has happened."

Sitting on the bed in front of her, Atem asked, "What is it?"

Tima closed her eyes, still smiling, and gently touched her stomach. Tarra gave a cheering chirp but Atem did not get it at first until she said, "I'm pregnant."

After a moment to digest the news, Atem's eyes widened in surprise. "You're…you're pregnant?"

Tima nodded and was then met with silence. Opening her eyes a little nervous, she then smiled again: Atem was smiling brightly before hugging her. "Tima…this is great news!"

Tima laughed happily and hugged him back. "Really?"

Atem nodded and pulled back. "Absolutely! This is one of the greatest days of my life!"

Tima's eyes started to tear up happily. Chuckling, Atem wiped her eyes before kissing her and touched her stomach. Tima sighed softly in the kiss, still in blissful shock: she was going to have a child, Atem's child. Tarra chirped happily and nuzzled Tima's stomach. Seeing this, Atem smirked. "You knew, didn't you?"

Her eyes sparkling, Tarra nodded. Tilting her head, Tima asked, "How…?"

_I saw that you had a soul in your stomach. We phoenixes can see them._

Tima laughed and hugged the phoenix. "You silly, why didn't you tell me?"

Squawking at the sudden hug, Tarra responded with, _Such news should be found out on your own. _The Queen shook her head in amusement as Tarra added, _This is cause for celebration!_

Atem agreed with nodded. "Agreed. We must tell everyone the good news and celebrate you bearing an heir to the throne."

The idea of announcing her pregnancy made Tima sour a little. While she knew that everyone would find out eventually, she knew that there was one member of the royal court who would not be thrilled. Despite her being the Queen for a month, she knew that Aknadin still did not accept her because she was a Hebrew slave. Now that she was pregnant, who knew how he would react? Because she was deep in thought, she did not hear Atem until he waved his hand in front of her. Waking up, she asked, "What did you say?"

Atem smiled and kissed her forehead. "I asked if you felt up to announcing the good news."

Tima thought about it. She knew that the villagers needed to know but the sun was already low in the sky and they were probably getting ready to settle in for the night. However, she knew that the people in the palace and the nobles were still awake. Also, she was feeling better now that she knew why she was "sick" and knowing that now was as good a time as ever. Coming to a decision, she nodded with a small kiss. "Yes, but we'll keep it to the palace and the nobles tonight; we'll announce it to the villagers tomorrow. Go on ahead and I'll join you as soon as Tikali and I get myself ready."

Nodding, he got up and kissed her deeply. "You have no idea how much I love you right now: my beautiful wife and Queen…is becoming a mother."

Tima giggled with a blissful smile. "And my husband and Pharaoh is becoming a father."

Smiling back, Atem left, running into Seth and Tikali. "Seth, come with me." Seth bowed his head as Atem added, "Tikali, please help Tima get ready; we want to announce this good news to everyone."

Tikali smiled in obedience and kissed her husband before going into the bedchambers. As the two men went towards the throne room, Seth was the first to talk. "Congratulations are in order. How do you feel?"

Atem smiled. "I assume Tikali told you." Off Seth's nod, the Pharaoh's smile broadened. "I still can't believe it…I'm going to be a father."

Seth smirked. "Yes…an heir to the throne."

At the thought of that, Atem started to wander. "Seth…do you think I will make a good father…like mine was?"

Seth gave Atem a surprised look. "My Pharaoh, why ask such a question?"

Atem sighed. "My father was a great man, Pharaoh, and father. Will I be able to live up to him? I don't want to mess up and have my son or daughter hate me."

Seth shook his head. "If I may, Pharaoh: I have known you since we were young, when you were still the prince. I had no doubt in my mind that you would become a great Pharaoh like your father. With that said, I believe you will also become a great and caring father just like yours was." As they continued to walk, Seth noticed that Atem appreciated what Seth said and admitted, "If I may, you could be nervous simply because this is your first child. I would feel the same way."

Atem silently agreed. After a beat, he asked, "You said you would be nervous too. Is Tikali…?"

Seth shook his head. "No, she is not. While having a child with her would be wonderful…it is…difficult."

Figuring out that they were trying without success, Atem nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, when the time comes where the gods will bless you with a child, I have faith in you as well."

Seth smiled softly in appreciation.

A couple of minutes later, everyone from the Royal Court to the servants to their friends was in the throne room, very curious about why they were summoned. Atem looked at Tima, who was dressed in a simple white dress, and took her hand. "My friends, something wonderful has happened to us and it is a blessing for all of us."

Isis smiled knowingly, having had a premonition literally minutes ago. Seeing her smile out of the corner of his eye, Atem told everyone in the throne room, "My beloved Tima is with child. We will have an heir to the throne very soon."

Their friends reacted with excitement while the court silently smiled with happiness except one. Aknadin could not believe it: the mudblood of a queen was pregnant with a half-breed? This was unacceptable in his eyes because it dirtied the royal bloodline. Because the rest of the court was too busy giving their congratulations to the royal couple, they did not notice his look but Seth did as he moved away from Tikali. "Priest Aknadin, may I have a word with you…alone?"

Seeing him, the elder nodded and the two men went into the hallway; Itami wanted to follow but Seth told her to wait in the throne room. Once alone, Seth crossed his arms. "Priest Aknadin…I see you are the only one who is not celebrating the new heir to the throne."

Aknadin crossed his arms and looked away, grateful that he could be open to his son. "You call that an heir to the throne, Seth? Have you gone mad? That woman is dirtying the royal bloodline."

Seth sighed to keep his temper under control. "She is not dirtying the bloodline. In fact, she was more pure than that Greek was."

Aknadin gave Seth a hard look. "Roxanna was more like royalty than that slave was. You of all people should know that this is going against tradition!"

The grip Seth had on the Sennen Rod tightened in his frustration. "Traditions come and go; you know that as well as I do."

Aknadin looked at Seth and shook his head. He remembered how he and Aknadin were the two who really went with the idea of Atem marrying Roxanna in the first place and now here was his son, accepting that Atem married his slave instead. "What happened to you? Ever since that child-woman came into your life, you've grown soft."

That was the final straw: Seth could handle a lot of insults thrown towards him but being called soft or insulting his wife was crossing the line. He uncrossed his arms and was about to make a move when he and Aknadin heard, "Seth, no!"

To their surprise, Tikali came out from where she was hiding behind the doors and grabbed Seth's hand that held the Rod. The two men could not believe that she was here and wondered how much she heard. More angered that a (former) slave interrupted a private talk, Aknadin glared at her. "How dare you eavesdrop on our conversation! Have you no manners?"

Her anger clouding her mind, Tikali glared at Aknadin. "The only one here who doesn't have manners is you! How dare you call Queen Tima a mudblood!"

Aknadin was angry and humiliated that this woman scolded him in front of his son. Without thinking, he raised his hand to smack Tikali but Seth stopped his hand with the Sennen Rod and said sternly, "This conversation is over…and so is your clinging to the old days. Understood?"

While Aknadin refused to let go of his views towards the two Hebrews, he knew that he had to at least pretend to understand, especially since Seth was Atemu's right-hand man and, in the end, had the final say between the two priests. Lowering his head, he nodded and stormed off. Scowling at Aknadin's attitude, Seth turned to Tikali, who had her head down. "Seth…I'm…sorry…"

Smirking, Seth made her look at him and kissed her before telling her, "That was very brave of you, Tikali."

Tikali looked up in surprise. "It was?"

Seth nodded. "Yes. No one outside the Royal Court has ever stepped up to Aknadin. I'm proud of you. Now let's get back."

Tikali smiled and turned to go back in. But she paused when she saw Kiko and Mana gushing over Tima and her announced pregnancy, hugging Tima and touching and talking to her stomach. Sighing softly, Tikali watched her friend with an envious look in her eyes. She did not wake from her stare until Seth touched her shoulder. Jumping a little, she looked back at him, seeing his sad smile. He hugged her from behind, understanding that she was jealous that she was not pregnant yet. "Do not worry, my love. Our blessing shall come one day."

Tikali turned around and leaned into his chest. "If only it was that easy…" She looked up at him and asked, "What if I can't…what if I can't give you a child…? What will-?"

Tikali was cut off by Seth kissing her. "I won't love you any less…I promise. I know you want to give me a child but, if we have to adopt, I will love you no matter what."

Tikali was not thrilled to hear the idea of adopting since she wanted to have a bond with Seth that was a child but she nodded. When they went inside, Itami flew over to Tikali and nuzzled her softly; while she did not hear the conversation, she could sense that Tikali was not feeling 100% emotionally and wanted to try and make her feel better. Tikali smiled and looked at Tima, who was already glowing from the attention her friends were giving her. In the dark about what happened outside the doors, Atem announced, "We shall have a celebration tonight to bless this happy occasion!"

Upon hearing that, the servants and friends left to get the party ready for tonight.

Later that night, the feast was in full swing with food, music, dancing, and celebration for the new heir. Tima could not help but be amazed at the celebration. Granted, there was always a celebration when someone from her tribe was expecting but this feast was bigger than she expected. "All this for us being pregnant?"

Atem looked at her and chuckled. "Of course, Tima. We are celebrating the new life you have been blessed with." Tima blushed a little, prompting Atem to kiss her cheek. "Enjoy yourself; everyone is happy that you are going to be a new mother."

Tima smiled, remembering how the nobles cheered when it was announced. As she continued to eat her dinner of plain bread and cooked bird, she wondered aloud, "I wonder where Tikali is; I really need to thank her for making sure that I had simple food that wouldn't make me sick."

Atem looked around and realized that he had not seen Tikali since he announced that they would have a celebration. Motioning for Seth to come forward, the Pharaoh asked, "Do you know where your wife is?"

Seth nodded. "She's preparing something in the kitchen; been at it almost all day."

Tima smiled. "Well, tell her that I want to see her when I get the chance."

Itami looked up from the rafters where she and the other phoenixes were. _I shall do that, my Queen._

Tima nodded in appreciation. With her eating and Atem watching the dancers, they did not catch the little look exchange between Itami and Seth. They knew the real reason why Tikali had not come out of the kitchen: she was worried that she would let slip that she was jealous of Tima's pregnancy. Seth and Itami continuously told her that it was all right to feel jealous but Tikali did not want to take the chance. Itami soon found Tikali, who was exhausted from her work of chopping, mashing, and grinding. Chirping to alert the Hebrew that she was coming, Itami flew down to her shoulder. _Hey. What are you working on?_

Tikali looked down at the bowl before her. Where there used to be about ten apples was now what could only be described as apple purée. "It's a dessert that my tribe made when a woman is pregnant. I think Tima will like it."

Itami smiled and took a little taste. _Mm! Simple but sweet._

Tikali smiled. "Thank you. It's something I haven't made in a long time."

Itami looked at Tikali as she finished making the purée and started to put it in a bowl. _Is there something on your mind, Tikali?_

Tikali shook her head, glad that Itami continued to respect the request that the Hebrew made to the phoenix to not invade her mind. "No…no, I'm fine."

_Are you sure? Seth and I are concerned._

Before Tikali could defend herself even more, Kiko and Nayru came in. "How's your dessert coming along?"

Tikali finish scooping the purée and smiled. "It's all done and ready for Tima to eat." Kiko looked at the purée and brightened. Even Nayru reached in to get a beak-full, making Tikali giggle and pull the bowl away from them. "Don't eat any; it's for the Queen. If there are leftovers, you can have that."

Kiko nodded and went to work on the dessert that Atem, the Royal Court, and the Khment nobles would get while Nayru went to mist the fruits to give them a shiny look. As Tikali got up to deliver Tima's dessert, Itami squeezed the Hebrew's shoulder. _We're not done yet. I still want to talk to you about this._

Tikali sighed and told her in mental speech, _We can do this another time._

Itami wanted to try again but Tikali put up her mental wall and headed to the throne room with the apple purée. Seeing it, Tima was surprised since this was a new food. "Thank you, Tikali. What is it?"

Tikali smiled. "It's a dessert that my tribe always made for an expecting mother."

Tima took the bowl and looked it. At first, it did not look appetizing since it was all mashed up. But she could feel Tikali staring at her, waiting for a reaction. So she put on a small smile and took a taste to be polite. To her surprise, it was better than she expected so she continued to eat it. Atem watched and chuckled. "That good, huh?"

Tima nodded and offered the bowl. "Yes, give it a try."

Atem tried a taste and reacted with positivity. As Tarra flew down to have a taste, Tima smiled at Tikali. "Thank you. This dessert is a big hit."

Tikali smiled. She then said without thinking, "Thank you, I was beginning to think that I would never use the recipe." She did not realize what she said until she saw the looks that the royal couple, phoenixes, and Seth gave her. "What? What did I-?" She put the pieces together and paled. "Oh, I'm sorry, Tima! I didn't mean it!"

Before Tima could stop at her, Tikali took off to the kitchen. Tima almost left to get her but she remembered that there were guests around so she had to stop. Atem shook his head and correctly guessed, "I'm sure she didn't mean to say that."

Tima nodded. "Yeah…but it must be hard for her with me being pregnant and not her. Maybe I should talk to her after the nobles leave."

Seth shook his head. "No, my Queen, I'll talk to her. It's a matter between us, after all."

Atem nodded and looked at Tima. "I agree with Seth. For now, don't worry; stress is the last thing your body needs."

Tima nodded and focused her attention on the party, which lasted for another couple hours. When the nobles started to leave and the servants started to clean up, the royal couple retired for the night. Worried about Tikali, Itami went to Seth. _You want me to join you?_

Seth shook his head. "No, thank you, Itami. I want to keep this between the two of us, if you don't mind."

Itami nodded. _Yeah, I understand. Just remember, I'm always here for the two of you if you need me._

Seto smiled softly with appreciation as Itami flew off. Alone again, Seth journeyed to the kitchen and peeked in, seeing Tikali cleaning up the apple mess. She seemed distracted in her thoughts, feeling a bit shameful for what she said. Because of her not paying attention, she did not hear Seth come in until he wrapped his arms around her, making her jump a little. After apologizing, he asked, "Are you all right, my love?"

Tikali lowered her head a little. "Oh, Seth…I said a horrible thing to Tima…I'm sure she hates me for it."

Seth chuckled, finding what she said almost adorable. "On the contrary…she's worried about you."

Surprised, Tikali turned around. "She is?"

Seth nodded. "We all are. We know that you're jealous of Tima being with child." Cupping her chin, he kept her from lowering her head and told her tenderly but sternly, "All we need is patience and faith in the gods…and they will deliver a child to us. All right?"

Tikali smiled softly, hoping that he was right. Touching his chest, she added with a little velvety tone in her voice, "Until then…we can always have fun trying."

Seth chuckled and took her hand, leading her out of the kitchen. He was glad that she was feeling better now that she got a bit of encouragement from her husband.

The next day, all the villagers headed towards the palace. They knew that the Pharaoh had a major announcement to make and could not help but wonder what it was. They hoped that it was a good piece of news, like when he introduced them to Tima for the first time. Once they were in the palace court, they noticed that there were more guards than usual, which signaled that this announcement was huge. Once everyone was inside, Atem and Tima came into view and the villagers cheered for their leaders until Atem held up his hand to quiet them down and give his announcement. "Citizens, I bring you joyous news! Today is a time for celebration for the gods have blessed us with joyous tidings." Smiling at Tima, who smiled back, Atem continued his announcement. "For on this day, my beloved and your Queen is with child! The Kingdom of Khment has an heir to the throne!"

The townspeople burst into cheers with joy, especially when Tima touched her stomach. This was indeed joyous news: their Queen was with child! Amidst the celebrating, there were two people who were not celebrating, one simply not caring and one furious. While they were clothed from head to toe to not be noticed right away, they still stood out like sore thumbs because of their facial scars…


	16. An Unexpected Hatred

Chapter 16

An Unexpected Hatred

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. **

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

That morning, as the villagers made their way to the palace, there was a group of seven that snuck into the kingdom and were now hiding in an alley, trying to figure out a way to sneak into the palace without being found out. Everyone in the group was wearing long cloaks and hoods over their heads to not let people notice them right away. However, they were still running some risks since three of them had facial scars. Looking around, Yima heard some chatter and noted, "Sounds like the Pharaoh is going to make an announcement."

Niva poked her head out and innocently asked, "Wonder what it is."

Malik glared down at the small Hebrew. During their long journey to the kingdom, he found her to be insufferable with her daydreaming, blind devotion to Yima, and insane fits when she did not like something; she was even more annoying than Roxanna, whom they left behind because she would have caused a scene and, thus, get them caught. Feeling his glare on her, she peeked up at the insane man, who sneered sarcastically, "Gee, stupid, I don't know! He hasn't made it yet!"

Lilith and Sabeen grinned with delight. Ever since the two groups banded together, they appeared to have taken a liking to Malik. Niva hid behind Yima, who glared at Malik. "Watch your mouth or I'll cut you in a way that will make you a woman."

Malik glared back to Yima, trying to ignore his fear slowly raising up in his body. He would never openly admit it but he was afraid of Yima because, when she argued with him or sometimes for no reason, she attacked him with a dagger and almost succeeded a few times. While he enjoyed attacking others, he did not like being on the receiving end. Rolling his eyes, Bakura pushed them apart and looked out at the crowd. "It's best we split up; that way, we'll blend in better."

Ripping his hand off her face, Yima sneered, "Took you long enough to come up with an obvious plan."

Bakura glared at Yima, who hissed. Their followers rolled their eyes, now used to seeing how much they bickered. Once the two settled down, the seven started to disband into the crowd. With the exception of the twins and Niva latching onto Yima's arm, they went one by one. Bakura and Yima did not have to worry about their scars since they were the results of hard lives; Malik tied a rag around his forehead to cover his scar since the sight would lead to him being captured and killed for returning. Yima looked down at Niva, who gave her an innocent look. "What do you think this announcement is?"

Yima shrugged. She then whispered, "I really don't care…I just need a visual confirmation that my bitch of a little sister is alive."

Niva nodded eagerly, seeing how much Yima hated her sister. Once they were inside, they were scattered around but wondered with the villagers about what the news was. Moments later, the Pharaoh and Queen came into view and all the villagers cheered for them. Bakura and Yima's followers applauded, acting like they belonged; Bakura and Yima could not do that. Bakura growled at Atem, feeling the urge to kill him to get revenge for Kul Elna, while Yima growled at Tima, looking healthy and happy and who obviously led a better life than her older sister. But her hatred grew by what Atem said: "Citizens, I bring you joyous news! Today is a time for celebration for the gods have blessed us with joyous tidings…for on this day, my beloved and your Queen is with child! The Kingdom of Khment has an heir to the throne!"

The villagers cheered for joy at the news. Again, Malik and the four girls continued the charade. Bakura had a blank face on, not caring about babies so this announcement was useless to him. Yima, however, felt her eyes widen in shock and then narrow with great hatred: not only was her little sister alive and Queen but she was pregnant! Niva looked up at Yima and saw the look on her face. She remembered, long ago, Yima admitted that she was barren, something she learned after never getting pregnant from all the assaults she endured. When Atem and Tima went back into the palace, the villagers started to disperse. Yima, however, started to head to the palace, pushing people left and right. Seeing this, Bakura went after her but the villagers made it difficult to get to her in time. To his relief, he saw that the twins were closing in on her. Catching eyes with Sabeen, Bakura pointed to Yima and ordered them, "Stop her!"

Sabeen nodded and she and Lilith closed in on Yima, hooking their arms on Yima's arms and dragging her out of the courtyard. Bakura sighed in relief and then rolled his eyes when he saw and heard Yima struggle to break free. As Eris and Niva picked up her legs to get her out faster, Malik joined Bakura's side and watched with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell is her problem?"

Bakura shrugged and then froze when he heard a guard behind him say, "That's what I want to know as well."

Malik did not turn around, not wanting to risk the chance of being recognized, so Bakura turned around and explained, "She's not right in the head."

Malik snickered, agreeing with that explanation. The guard accepted the answer, especially since the four women were able to get Yima out of the courtyard. As the two men went to join them, Yima yelled, "You're going to get yours, you bitch!"

Niva squeezed Yima's leg. "Yima, please! You'll get us caught! Then you'll never get your revenge!"

Yima looked down at Niva. Her face then twisted to a dark smirk as an idea started to develop.

When Yima yelled, Tima felt a chill go down her spine, making her look behind her and catching Atem's attention. "Tima? You okay?"

Tima nodded. "Yeah…I just thought I heard something."

Atem looked behind them, having not heard a thing. "Really? What?

After hearing silence, Tima shook her head. "It's probably nothing. Maybe I'm hearing things."

Still, Tima looked a little worried since she was convinced that she heard someone yell from a distance. What added to her worries was that the voice seemed to be both ominous and familiar. Wanting to make her feel better, Atem pulled her against a pillar and wrapped his arms around her. "Have no worries, my love. I am here and I shall protect you." When Tima smiled and touched his chest, he added, "For now…let's focus on the good things."

With that, he reached down and touched her stomach. Tima smiled and touched his hand. "Atem…"

Kissing her cheek, he lovingly said, "This is a great day, Tima…you have blessed me with this gift. Nothing can bring me down today."

Tima smiled in agreement.

That night, Tima was outside in the garden, enjoying the night air on the bench. Atem was called to a very last minute meeting so she was waiting for him to finish and join her. Taking a deep breath, she sighed softly and touched her stomach. She still could not believe it: she was going to have Atem's child. Peeking up at the sky, her smile widened at all the stars and full moon. She then closed her eyes and lifted her hands towards the sky. "Lord…thank you for this wonderful blessing you have granted me and Atem. I pray that you send your angels to see to it that I have a successful pregnancy."

When her prayer ended, she felt a small breeze blow through her hair, as if her God was telling her that He heard her prayer and would answer. Chuckling lightly, she opened her eyes and looked towards the entrance to the palace. Expecting to see Atem, she got an unexpected surprise: there was a girl there that looked to be a Hebrew as well. Blinking with surprise, Tima smiled softly. "Hello there."

The girl jumped and bit down on the tip of her little finger to calm herself. "Um…hi…"

Tima smiled and stood up. "Who might you be?"

She looked at Tima, keeping her finger between her teeth. "N-Niva."

Tima giggled at Niva's innocence and went up to Niva. "Such a cute name. Are you new here?"

Niva gave Tima her most innocent look. "New? Oh, yes, I'm new! I just wanted to meet you!"

Tima giggled again, finding Niva to be cute with how she talked. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Niva. I'm sure we'll get to know each other very well."

That's when Niva grinned a crazed smile at Tima, making Tima nervous. That look was nerve-racking, especially with her finger still between her teeth. The Queen was about to speak when she heard another voice hidden in the shadows: "We already know you very well…Tima."

Tima froze at the sound of the voice; the voice sounded very familiar but it had been so long. Besides, the owner of the voice was supposed to be dead. She then woke up and jumped back just in time to miss a dagger that would have stabbed her temple. "Who's there?!"

Niva giggled with crazed delight as the voice spoke again. "Forgot me already? I'm hurt."

Tima paled; now there was no denying whose voice that was. Her suspicions were confirmed when Yima stepped into view from behind the wall next to Niva, who giggled again in her insanity. Tima almost fainted at the sight of her long-suspected-to-be-dead older sister. "Yima…you're alive."

Yima held up her dagger and twisted the blade tip against her temple, all the while glaring at her younger sister. "Oh, I'm alive, all right…alive and furious!"

Tima started to shake with fear. It was very clear that there was something very different about Yima and it was not just her scars. There was something dangerous and evil about Yima. Shaking her head in disbelief, Tima asked, "Yima…what happened to you?"

Yima smirked darkly. "Oh, you can tell the difference? You're not as dumb as I thought you were." Niva giggled again, making Yima smile a crazed smile and shake her head in mock disbelief. "Look at you…Mom's favorite…left for dead, like me…and look where you are now." When Tima opened her mouth to speak, Yima swiped the dagger in her sister's direction. "You keep your mouth shut! I don't want to hear your voice!"

Tima started to shake in fear. This was not the Yima she knew when she was little: this Yima appeared to be pure evil. Refusing to believe what was in front of her, Tima pleaded, "Yima, please…we're sisters…"

Yima snapped, "Don't give me that sister crap!" Gripping her dagger, she started to slowly walk towards the backing up Queen, her eyes dangerously narrow. "Do you realize how much I suffered after that raid? How traumatized I was by the sight of ours parents' and your body? How much I've had to claw, bite, and fight to get a somewhat normal life? And now I find you…living the high life, Queen of Khment…and not even caring about your own flesh and blood!"

Tima continued to back up, afraid for hers' and her baby's life with her sister as crazed as she was. But the back of her mind noted that Yima seemed to believe that Tima did not care about her older sister. That was far from the truth: not a day had gone by since the raid that the young Hebrew did not think about her sister. Shaking her head, Tima held out her hand to try to stop Yima. "Yima, it's not like that…please let me explain…"

Yima growled and lifted her dagger to her eye level. Out of pure instinct, Tima covered her stomach with her other hand. Seeing this, Yima's anger grew and her eyes showed her fury. "What are you doing? Trying to rub it in that you're pregnant?!"

Tima shook her head, ignoring the tears falling from her eyes. "No! Yima, please! Don't do this!"

Yima spat out, "Shut up! Why should you get the good life?! What makes you so special that God would provide for you and give me a life of pain?!

Just as Yima was about to tackle Tima, a guard arrived at the gardens. A new guard with unusually platinum blond hair, purple eyes, and scars all over his body, he was sent by Atem to pick up Tima since the Pharaoh was too mentally tired to join her. Seeing Yima, he quickly got between the two women with his sword drawn. "You! How dare you threaten the Queen!"

Unaware that Niva was suddenly pulled out of sight, Yima grinned with sick delight. "So…looks like the bitch has her own little protector. Does the Pharaoh know…about how close you are?"

The guard just blinked at the accusations, knowing that this vile woman was saying that to try and get a rise out of him. Tima hid behind the guard, knowing that he was there to protect her, but her movements added another straw to Yima's back. She was about to attack him when her hand holding the dagger was stopped by a whip. Looking back, she noticed that it was Malik, holding the whip in one hand and Niva in a chokehold in the other. "You are a naughty girl, Yima…sneaking off like that. Because of you, I had to sneak in here to bring you back."

Yima screamed in fury at him, furious that he stopped her from getting revenge. Looking up, Malik smirked at the guard. That was when Tima noticed that the guard had started trembling as soon as Malik showed up. Starting to pull Yima back towards him, causing her to drop her dagger, Malik amused, "So…this is where you ended up…little Marik."

The guard Marik tightened his tight on his sword and gave a loud whistle. Malik raised his eyebrow, thinking that the whistle was unnecessary, until he heard a group of guards heading over to them. Rolling his eyes, he raced forward and knocked Yima unconscious with a blow to the back of her head with his elbow. With her now unconscious in his free arm, Malik looked at the guard and Queen with a sick grin. "Well…as much as I love these little reunions, I must leave you now. See you around…little brother."

Tima paled, realizing that these two men were related. Growling, Marik tried to attack Malik but he backed away and disappeared in the darkness, laughing the whole way. As soon as he was gone, the rest of the guards arrived. Seeing them, Marik ordered, "A woman and my brother just threatened the Queen! Search the palace; make sure that they don't escape!"

The guards immediately went to work on securing the palace, especially since they knew that Marik's brother Malik was extremely dangerous. One guard hesitated, wanting to stay with the Queen, but Marik shook his head. "I will deliver her to the Pharaoh. Go help the others."

Nodding, the guard left. Turning around, Marik sheathed his sword and bowed to the Queen. "My Queen. You are safe."

Tima was too busy shaking to notice. Her sister was alive and out to kill her. Noticing her fear, Marik stood up and touched her shoulder, causing her to wake up. "I will bring you to the Pharaoh. You will be safe there."

Unable to speak at the moment, she just nodded and followed Marik to the bedroom, trying to unsuccessfully calm herself down. Once they were there, Marik knocked on the door. "My Pharaoh, I brought the queen."

Atem's voice rang out from the room. "Bring her in."

Nodding in obedience, Marik opened the door and brought Tima in. Looking up from the bed, Atem and Tarra noticed how shook up Tima was and immediately went to her. "Tima, what happened?"

Marik got down on one knee in respect for the Pharaoh. "My Pharaoh, she was attacked by an unknown woman and my brother."

At the mention of the unknown woman, Tima started to cry, remembering how her sister was. Tarra nuzzled her head and Atem hugged her close to try and comfort her, grateful that Marik was able to get her in time and get her away safely. While he did not know who the woman was, he knew Malik: he personally saw to it that Malik was banished with the mark on his forehead after seeing Marik and his sister inches from death after Malik tortured them simply for pleasure. Rubbing Tima's back, he nodded to Marik. "Thank you, Marik. That will be all."

Marik bowed his head in respectful obedience and left. Closing the door, he tightened his fist, hating that his brother Malik had returned and was supposedly working with the woman who threatened the Queen, the man whose torture gave him all his scars. "I swear to Ra…I will protect the Pharaoh and Queen…and kill you, Malik."

Inside the bedroom, Atem had picked up Tima and carried her to the bed, where she finally stopped crying. Seeing that she calmed down, he sat next to her and touched her back. "What happened?"

Tima sniffled and looked down at the dagger in her hands. "My sister…"

Atem got a little confused. Was Tima talking about her dead sister? Confused as well, Tarra asked, _Say again?_

Tima closed her eyes, letting more tears fall. "The unknown woman…that was my sister…"

Atem's eyes widened in shock. Her sister was alive and, worse yet, trying to kill Tima? He wanted to know more but he could see that Tima was too upset to talk so he hugged her close, letting her cry in his chest. With her hormones going crazy with the pregnancy and her sister threatening her, he fully understood why she was crying so bitterly and knew that she needed all the comfort she could get. Tarra wanted to help as well but Atem silently asked her to warn the other phoenixes. Once Tarra left and Tima settled down again, he took her hands into his and said gently, "Tima…tell me what happened…"

Tima sniffled and wiped her eyes with her arms. "I…don't know how…but she's alive…she must have been taken instead of killed; she did mention that she suffered a great deal." She started to tremble when she added, "She's evil now…"

Atem wrapped his arm around her. "It's all right…I'm here…"

Gripping his shirt, she admitted, "What's worse…" she looked up with tears in her eyes, "…when she looked at me…she looked like…like she hated me…my own sister…the one I used to look up to when I was little…she had a look of pure hatred on her face…how could she hate me? She believes that I never cared about her…how could she think that?"

Atem shook his head. "I don't know. But know this: nothing will happen to you, I promise you." He was relieved to see that she was starting to smile but got worried when her look soured. "Tima? Is there something else?"

Tima touched her stomach. "She seemed furious…that I was pregnant." Lowering her head, she whispered, "Maybe that is why she hates me…maybe she's jealous…or can't have children of her own…maybe if I…

Atem cupped her chin and made her look at him. Seeing the sadness in her eyes, he hugged her close. "Do not say such things." Pulling back to look at her, he continued, "You have been blessed with a precious gift…the gift of life. I am not sure what is going on with your sister and I will not assume anything. But, you must know, you cannot let this get to you for you are a wonderful person." Seeing her about to protest, he kissed her deeply. "No more sadness. This is a blessing and don't think of it as anything else. All right?"

Tima smiled and leaned into him, touching his chest. "Thank you."

Atem smiled and laid back with her. "Anything for you. And I meant what I said: nothing will happen to you, for I will protect you with my life."

Tima smiled and snuggled with him. "I love you, Atem."

Atem kissed her head. "And I love you, Tima…I can't imagine life without you."

Tima looked up at him with a smile and kissed him deeply, only to have the kiss interrupted by a knock at the door. Telling Tima to stay in bed and rest, Atem went to the door and opened it, revealing Marik and Jouno with Earthzina. Atem exited to talk to them in private, knowing that the master bedroom was too high for Yima or Malik to get into. "Well?"

Marik just shook his head as Jouno said, "Pharaoh, we checked all over the palace. We don't even know how they got in, let alone how they escaped."

Marik pointed out, "We do have guards all over the palace at every entrance, known and secret."

Earthzina added, _Tarra and I informed the other phoenixes and they will search the village tomorrow to see if they are there._

Atem nodded. While he was disappointed that Yima and Malik got away, he did appreciate what everyone was doing. Turning to Marik, the Pharaoh told him, "I want you to be the head of the search since you know your brother and you are the only one besides my beloved who saw Yima's face."

Marik bowed his head in obedience and Atem retired for the night. Jouno looked at Marik. "Out of curiosity, what was the woman like?"

Marik just said, "Almost as frightening as my brother…"

At that moment, Malik and Eris (who went along to help control Niva) arrived back at the base camp not too far from Kul Elna. Bakura looked up and noticed Yima was slumped across Malik's horse. Rolling his eyes, he asked his right-hand man, "You didn't kill her, did you?"

The twins looked up in worry: while they liked Malik, they were dedicated first to Yima. After noticing that Roxanna was not there (more than likely sleeping), Malik gave Bakura a sarcastic insulted look. "Bakura, what do you think?"

Bakura glared at Malik, not appreciating the sarcasm right now. "The last time you knocked someone out, you broke their neck. Now tell me the truth: did you kill her?"

Malik shook his head and let Yima's body slide off his horse. He hoped that he could watch her land hard on the ground but Niva, Sabeen, and Lilith managed to catch their leader before she did. Getting off his horse, Malik growled, "Damn it, bitches; you're spoiling my fun."

Eris got off her horse and held her dagger to Malik's chin. "You harm our leader again, I'll cut off what makes you a man and feed them to you."

Bakura's eyebrow twitched at the image but Malik had a completely opposite reaction: he smirked and licked the dagger before asking, "Is that supposed to frighten me or turn me on?"

Eris immediately backed up, learning for the first time just how psychotic Malik really was. Niva whimpered and hid behind Eris as well but Sabeen and Lilith looked up at Malik, surprised with themselves that they found what Malik said alluring. Having enough, Bakura picked up Yima over his shoulders and stated, "I'm going to bed."

Malik agreed and headed for his tent, soon realizing that the twins were following her. Unable to resist the temptation nor wanting to, he invited them in for the night. Still shaken by what Malik said, Eris went to her tent, leaving Niva behind. The albino started to head to his tent but heard Niva following. Waiting until they got into the tent to put her in a false sense of security, he turned around and pushed her out with a hand over her face. "Keep watch, you rat."

He suddenly gave a painful yelp and pulled his hand back, revealing Niva with her teeth firmly on his hand. He tried to shake her loose but her bite only tightened. Growling in frustration, he was about to hit her when he heard Yima's voice bark, "Niva! Sit!"

Niva immediately let go of his hand and sat down in front of him. Bakura looked and saw that Yima was conscious and glaring at the albino. "Will you put me down?"

Bakura shrugged and dropped her. "If you insist."

Niva wanted to attack but Yima pointed to the tent entrance so the smaller Hebrew left and sat outside the tent. Bakura looked down at her. "You need to keep your rat in check! The bitch bites hard!"

Yima immediately stood up and punched Bakura in the cheek. Groaning in pain, he yelled at Yima, "What the hell was that for?!"

Yima hissed, "That's for sending your bitch to stop me! I had that bitch of a sister in my grasp and he stopped me!"

"Well, it's your own fault for charging in like that! You would have gotten caught!"

"As long as the bitch dies, I don't care!"

"You're not the only one who demands revenge! If you get killed or caught, both of us lose! I will not have your stupid ass sabotage everything!"

Yima gripped her hair and started to scream, alerting everyone in the camp. "You don't know shit! You've said all this time that we're the same but we're not! You don't know what it's like: to see another member of your family as the favorite, to think you've lost everything! Then, suddenly, you see that same bitch, happy, Queen, and about to have a kid when all you've been through and known is misery!" She turned to him, having a crazed look in her eyes. "Tell me! Is that fair?! Is it?! You don't-!"

Out of nowhere, the yells were interrupted by a loud SLAP! Yima's head was turned, her eyes wide by the sudden slap. Peeking at Bakura, she noticed that he kept his hand raised and his bangs were overshadowing his eyes. She was about to yell at him for slapping her when he started to talk, letting everything out. "Tell me…is it fair to watch your whole village slaughtered? To see your Mother's bloody body and see your Father get sacrificed? To learn that your village was targeted by the Pharaoh to make mystical items? To see the Pharaoh and his son not having a care in the world, not caring about the pain and torture they put you through?" He looked up to reveal a glare with dark eyes. "Is that fair?!"

Yima said nothing, being reminded about Bakura's past. She then sighed and turned away. "You can kill the Pharaoh but I get to kill the bitch."

Bakura nodded. "Fair enough. But we move when I say we do."

Yima glared at Bakura but, deep down, she did understand, especially since she suspected that security had gotten tighter since her attack.

The group did not approach the kingdom again for a while, making Yima and Roxana restless. Bakura got the brunt end of their screams and restlessness but he knew that they needed to wait to put the kingdom in a false sense of security; if they attacked right away, they would be spotted by the guards. Letting the women have fun torturing Roxanna, the albino tried to distract Yima with fights with Malik, to the criminal's disgust, and plenty of stress relieving sessions, which did more to distract her but, as soon as the pleasure left, she was back to complaining. Finally, Bakura had enough and declared that they would sneak into the kingdom and at least scope out the palace to find a weak spot.

That morning, the group of seven, each wearing their cloaks, made their way into the kingdom by sneaking into a cart of barley and staying in the shadows; once again, they left Roxanna behind to avoid her making a scene. Not wanting to attract too much attention, Yima and Bakura left their followers behind and made their way to the palace. Once they made it, however, Bakura started to have doubts. "I don't know…the guards are still pretty alert."

Yima was still very restless and wanted to kill Tima as soon as possible so she nudged Bakura forward. "So go distract them so I can sneak in."

Bakura growled quietly at her, not wanting to draw attention to them. "Me? I have a bigger stake in this than you! You should go distract them!"

Yima glared at him but knew also to keep quiet. "No! They already know what I look like and will arrest me on the spot!"

Bakura growled, "Good! Then I would be rid of you for good!"

Yima was about to scream at him when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Looking, she grinned and pointed to the entrance. Bakura looked up and smirked darkly: Tima and Atem with Tarra on his shoulder stepped out. Yima was about to pounce when Bakura held her back as Marik and another guard came out behind them. Tima was dressed as a peasant, in a long-sleeved brown dress and light brown sash around her neck. Atem was rubbing her shoulder, nervous. "Are you sure about this? Your sister is still out there."

Tima smiled and touched his hand. "Atem, it will be all right; I'm just going to get some fabric."

Atem sighed with a small smile. "You know that I offered to have one of the servants buy the fabric for you."

Tima nodded and kissed his nose. "I know, my love, but this is going to be our child's blanket. I want to make it with my own hands." She then chuckled. "Tarra, people will know who I am if they see you. Besides, my guards will keep me safe."

Marik and the other guard nodded. Marik spoke up, "We will protect our Queen, my Pharaoh: you have our word."

Atem looked at the guards and nodded: he knew that they spoke the truth but he was still a little worried. Seeing this, Tima reached out and took his hand. "I will be fine, Atem. You have to trust me."

Atem looked at her before nodding. "All right, Tima. I trust you. Just be back before high noon."

Tima smiled and nodded before kissing Atem deeply. Breaking the kiss, he pulled the light brown sash over her head, revealing that it was actually a hood. It was not much of a disguise because her face was still seen but it was better than nothing. He then nodded to the guards and the three of them left, each posted around the Queen. Atem watched them off, praying to his gods that everything would be all right. When he went back into the palace, Bakura and Yima followed the three, stopping when they ran into their followers in an alley by the marketplace. Eris asked, "So how are we getting in?"

Bakura stated, "We're not." Pointing to Tima's back, he added, "She's outside."

Malik looked up and licked his lips in his insanity. His urges taking over for a split second, he wanted to go out and grabbed her right then and there but Yima stopped him by pressing her new dagger against his chest. "Don't even think about it…she's mine."

She started to step out when Bakura grabbed her by the hair. Hissing in pain, she was about to scream at him when he covered her mouth and pointed out Marik and the other guard. "Have you forgotten about them, bitch?"

Yima ripped his hand off her face and demanded, "Well then, what the hell are we doing here?!"

Bakura hissed, "We kidnap her, that will lure the Pharaoh out of the palace. That way, we can kill two birds with one stone."

Yima could accept that but she still growled, "Then what are we doing here waiting? Let's just kill the guards and get this over with!"

Frustrated with her need to have sudden revenge, Bakura wanted to yell back at her but Malik smirked and interjected, "We'll wait a few minutes and then we'll be able to grab her."

Lilith looked up at him and asked, "How so?

Malik pointed to the marketplace. Looking, Bakura and the women soon saw what Malik meant: the marketplace was starting to get crowded with stands opening and the villagers buying what they needed. Niva smiled brightly. "Wow! You're so observant!"

Malik sneered and flicked her head. "I used to live here, you bitch."

Yima glared at Malik before looking back and seeing Tima. "So how are we going to get her away from the guards?"

Malik looked at the women. "That's where you bitches come on…"

The twins nodded eagerly while Eris and Niva glared at him. But they still listened.

As the villagers started to fill the marketplace, Tima was getting a little nervous. But she was grateful that the guards were nearby, especially with one of the guards being Marik. The other guard noticed her nervousness and told her bravely, "Do not worry, your highness: we are here to protect you."

Tima smiled and nodded, pulling the hood further down her forehead. "Thank you. Once I get the fabrics, I'll be ready to leave."

Marik nodded. "Very well, your highness. But I suggest we make haste when you are done."

Tima nodded again and continued to walk and looked at the stands to try and find one that sold fabrics. The guards tried to stay close to her but it was difficult with all the villagers, especially with a few wondering why a seemingly normal peasant needed guards. Minutes later, Tima noticed the fabric salesman and started to head to him. That was what everyone was waiting for: when the two guards tried to catch up to them, the Syrian twins pulled them into an alley and choked them out with chokeholds, remembering that Bakura told them not to kill the men. Unaware that her guards were gone, Tima approached the fabric salesman but, before she could talk to him, Eris stepped in front of her. "Miss, are you searching for fabrics?"

Tima looked up at this blond and nodded. "Yes."

The fabric salesman could not believe that this unknown face cut in on a potential sale and tried to get Tima's attention. "Excuse me, miss. Don't listen to this woman: I have the best fabric you can buy to make a dress."

Remembering that Tima was pregnant, Eris smiled at her. "That may be but I can give you fabrics for more sewing projects: something for your husband, perhaps…or maybe for a baby."

Hearing that, Tima touched her stomach. "Even for a baby blanket?"

The fabric salesman heard this and tried to get Tima's attention. "Ma'am, I have every color imaginable for your child."

Eris glared at the man and then looked back at Tima. "Come now, we know that a woman knows more about babies and what they need to keep warm. Isn't that right…" she leaned in and whispered with a dark smirk, "…your highness?"

Tima's eyes widened and took a step back: this woman knew who she was. She turned to look for her guards and saw that they were gone. She looked back at Eris, who continued to have her dark smirk. "Going somewhere?"

Now scared out of her mind, Tima turned and started to run away. It was difficult with the crowd but she was determined to get away. All of a sudden, she was pulled into an alley. Yelping in surprise, she thought for a brief second that it was one of her guards. To her fearful surprise, she was put into a chokehold and eventually passed out. Holding Tima's unconscious body, Yima sneered. "Too easy."

Niva giggled with delight and then gave Yima her dagger. Smiling evilly in thanks, Yima got ready to slit Tima's throat but she was stopped by Bakura. She snapped, "What are you doing?! Why are you stopping me?!"

Bakura clicked his tongue at Malik, who took the unconscious Queen from Yima and put her in a large bag. "If she is killed, I don't get my revenge. I told you this, bitch."

Yima hissed at him as Malik hoisted the bag over his shoulder. "You need to stop doing that or you'll make Bastet mad."

Bakura smirked at the idea of Yima making the cat goddess mad, only for him to almost laugh when Yima hissed again. When the twins and Eris came back, Sabeen confirmed that she left the ransom note with the guards. Nodding, Bakura and Malik started to leave but Yima hesitated and demanded, "Why can't I just kill her now?!"

Bakura was getting tired of arguing with Yima and was about to yell at her when Malik interjected with, "And miss the bloody reunion between her and Roxanna? You must be crazy."

Yima stopped and thought about that. Soon her face contorted to a very evil grin, one that was accompanied by her follower's eager chuckles. They knew how eager Roxanna was to kill Tima and was upset at being left behind both times. This way, everyone would get their revenge on the royal couple. As they started to leave the kingdom, Bakura looked back at the palace. "Hurry and yet take your time with sensing that something is wrong, Pharaoh…otherwise, we'll get all the fun and blood we can get out of your bitch."


	17. Terror, Love, and Strength

Chapter 17

Terror, Love, and Strength

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers. **

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

When Tima was taken out of the kingdom, Atem felt a jolt in his heart that told him something was very wrong. He wanted to figure out why he felt that way but he was stuck in a meeting. Thankfully, Tarra was in the window sunning and sensed how tense he was. _Hey, are you all right?_

Not wanting the Royal Court to see him distracted, Atem mentally asked her, _Can you see if Tima came back yet?_

Tarra nodded and flew off. Since Tima was not Tarra's guardian, there was no way the phoenix could project her thoughts to the Hebrew from a distance; however, she could still do a mind scan and see if she could sense Tima's presence. After scanning, she determined, _She's not back yet. She might still be in the market._

Normally, Atem would have accepted that answer but something still felt off so he stood up and stated, "We'll have to continue this another time."

The Royal Court was surprised to hear this; Atem had never interrupted a meeting before. Mahad asked in a concerned tone, "Is everything all right, my Pharaoh?"

Not wanting to cause any alarm, Atem simply stated, "I just want to check on something."

Aknadin was about to argue when Seth took a guess: "Is it the Queen?"

Atem did not answer but his face spoke volumes. Aknadin silently grumbled, believing that Tima was now cutting into the politics of the palace, but the rest of the court knew that something must be wrong for Atem to behave this way. Karim offered, "Is there anything we can do?"

Atem smiled softly, grateful that the court was accepting of his actions. "No, thank you, Karim."

The Royal Court nodded as Atem left to find the guards to organize a search party. They hoped that this was just the Pharaoh worried about his pregnant Queen but Seth could not help but wonder if there was something more…

Moments later, Jouno came out of the palace dressed in commoner's clothes. A few guards and Earthzina volunteered to go with him to look for Tima but the blond stated that only he and one other, a hooded man, would go to not attract attention. They were about to leave when Seth, also dressed in commoner's clothes, approached them. "What are you doing?"

Jouno glared as the other hid his face a little more. "What do you think? We're going to find the Queen."

Seth shook his head and looked at the other male. "I was talking to you."

Jouno paled; did Seth know who this person was? But he tried to play it off. "He volunteered to help me and we can cover more ground this way."

Seth looked at Jouno with a small glare. "Don't lower me down to your intelligence level; I know who this man is."

Angered by the insult, Jouno was about to yell at Seth when the volunteer stopped him with a hand gesture and took off his hood to reveal the Pharaoh. "How did you know?"

Seth first said, "Forgive me, my Pharaoh." Reaching forward, he held up Atem's left hand. "No one else in the palace wears a wedding band, especially a gold one."

Atem glared and took back his hand. "I have to go see if Tima is all right. It's just…a feeling I have."

Seth could have argued but he knew that Atem was behaving the same way he did when Tikali was kidnapped. Nodding once, he declared, "I'm going with the two of you."

Jouno shook his head. "Are you crazy? The two of us can handle this and-" His statement was cut off by Seth shoving his hand in the blond's face. The High Priest said, "I know what it's like to have a funny feeling about the woman you love. That is why I am volunteering; if, for nothing else, to keep you calm."

Atem snapped, "I am calm!"

Jouno peeled Seth's hand off his face and was about to talk when Seth stated, "With all due respect, Pharaoh, you are not; how do you expect to save the Queen if you are rash like this?"

Atem was about to argue back when Tarra came down and nuzzled Atem's cheek. _You need to calm down…if you act like this, you can't think straight and that is the last thing you need._

Atem took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right…forgive me. Let's go to the market and check on her."

Jouno was about to say that it was all right when Seth said it first. As Atem put back on his hood, the blond glared at the High Priest. "Am I ever going to speak around you?"

Seth just smirked in response. Tarra added, _Pharaoh, I think I should join you from the skies. That way, I can keep an eye out for Tima but still be far enough away so that people don't recognize you._

Thinking about it, Atem nodded in agreement.

Soon the three men made their way through the marketplace. The salesmen tried to get their attention with all the things that they had to sell but Atem ignored them, trying to find the fabric salesman. Seth and Jouno stayed near the Pharaoh, glad that the disguise kept people from realizing who he was. Finally, after walking and getting pushed around by rushed people (which annoyed Seth but Atem and Jouno brushed off), they found the fabric salesman. Atem made a beeline for the stand, which brightened up the man. "Hello, my kind sir. With your hurriedness to get here, you must be in trouble with the little woman and want to make up for whatever you did with a beautiful dress. Can I interest you in a rich red fabric?"

Not used to Atem being treated like a common man, Seth tensed up while Jouno tried not to laugh at the idea of Atem making a dress. Atem, however, stayed on subject. "I'm here for information." He could tell that the fabric salesman was disappointed but still willing to help. "Did you sell fabric to a woman this morning? A foreign woman?"

The salesman thought for a moment. "Well, good sir, this morning was very crowded with both locals and foreigners coming and going. Tell me, this woman…did she have something specific that would make her stand out?"

Atem thought for a moment before remembering that his Queen had one thing that was rare in Khment: "She has blue eyes."

Taking this piece of information, the salesman started to remember. He was about to say that he never saw her when he suddenly snapped his fingers in remembrance. "There was a foreign woman wearing a hood with blue eyes here this morning. I tried to make a sale with her but this blond Greek woman cut me off and made the blue-eyed woman run off."

That caught everyone's attention: why would Tima run away, especially when she supposedly had guards with her? And what did the Greek woman say to make the Hebrew run off? Atem asked, "Did you see where she went?"

The salesman pointed in the direction that Tima took off and Atem quickly headed in that direction with Seth and Jouno close behind. Along the way, they heard Tarra call out to them. _I found the guards!_

That was worrisome, especially since Tarra did not mention Tima. Following the phoenix's voice, they found Marik and the other guard passed out in the alley where Sabeen and Lilith left them. Though on guard, Seth stayed calm while Atem was close to having a mental breakdown. More upset that two of his guardsmen were attacked, Jouno revived Marik, who saw Jouno and was confused. "How…?"

Atem lowered down and revealed his bangs, making Marik bow in respect. "Where is Tima?"

As Jouno worked to revive the other guard, Marik braced himself for a lashing. "We were attacked from behind…choked out…"

Atem gripped his head, on the verge of freaking out, when Tarra went to him and squeezed his shoulder to help. _Atem! Calm down!_

Atem was about to argue that he could not afford to calm down when the other guard, now revived, touched his head, revealing a piece of paper tied to his hand. Seeing it, Jouno took and opened it, only to have his face scrunch up with confusion. "What the hell is this?"

Atem and Seth looked and knew immediately what it was: "Greek."

Jouno raised his eyebrow at the answer both men gave him. "Why the hell is this letter in Greek? And why do my guards have it?"

Seth glared a little. "If you were paying attention, you might have remembered that the Queen ran off when confronted by a Greek woman."

Jouno glared back as he helped the guards up. Grateful that Lapidos was left all those months ago, Atem took the letter. "Let's go back. The sooner he can get started translating, the sooner we'll be able to get Tima back."

Everyone agreed and headed back to the palace. Marik tried many times to apologize for not doing his job but Jouno and Atem told him that they did do their jobs; Jouno especially pointed out that attacks from the back are always hard to predict. To their surprise, Isis was waiting for them when they came back to the palace with a grave look on her face. Moving away from the group, Atem removed his hood and asked, "What is it?"

Isis took a deep breath before explaining, "I had a vision of the Queen…and who's she with now."

Atem could tell from the look on Isis' face that this news was going to be really bad.

At the moment, Tima felt something pinch her cheek and she woke up with a yelp. To her surprise, she was in a tent with her hands and feet tied. Looking around to figure out where she was, her eyes fell on the one who pinched her cheek and widened at who it was, said person commenting, "Why, hello, Tima…we meet again."

Tima could not believe who she was seeing. Her hair was messy and she was covered with dirt and dust but there was no denying who she was: "Roxanna! Y-You're alive!"

Roxanna sneered, feeling her hatred grow for the Hebrew. "Don't 'Roxanna' me, you peasant! And yes, I am alive! I survived this gods-forsaken place, no thanks to you."

Tima held up her tied hands to both protect herself and plead with the insane Greek. "Roxanna…please…"

Without warning, Roxanna slapped Tima extra hard across the cheek. "Don't you go begging for mercy, bitch! I have a little score to settle with you."

Her cheek stinging from the slap, Tima peeked at Roxanna. "Please…don't hurt me…"

Roxanna laughed darkly at the plea. "Hurt you? You wish I would be that generous to you!"

With that, Roxanna grabbed a nearby dagger and was about to cut Tima when she noticed that the Hebrew covered her stomach in a protective way. The Greek froze, feeling another straw fall on the camel's back. As she hesitated, Yima came in to remind Roxanna that Tima was off-limits. Tima gave Yima a pleading look as Roxanna glared at Yima. "The bitch is pregnant?"

Yima gave Roxanna a blank stare. "Didn't we tell you?" Off of Roxanna's hiss, the scarred Hebrew continued to be mockingly numb. "Oh…thought we did."

Hoping that there was still some good left in Yima, Tima looked at the elder. "Yima…please…help me…"

Adding to the Queen's pain, Yima glared a cold look at her younger sister. Tima scooted back a little as the scarred thief grabbed Roxanna by the wrist and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go, bitch. You're not spoiling our plans."

Roxanna held back, refusing to be treated this way when she had Tima right where she wanted. "Hold it! I am royalty so I get to kill-!"

Her demands were cut off by a sharp cry of pain: Yima twisted the Greek's arm behind her back, causing Roxanna to drop the dagger, and pinned her against one of the tent's poles. Yima stated with a sinister look, "You listen and you listen good: the only person who deserves to kill this bitch is me."

In pain and afraid, Roxanna was still greedy enough to protest. "Not true…she stole my man…"

Yima tightened her grip, making Roxanna cry, and hissed, "And she's my sister, having a better life than me. Therefore, I win."

Keeping Roxanna's arm twisted behind her back, Yima brought Roxanna outside the tent and threw her to the ground. Everyone looked up and laughed at Roxanna, the once daughter of a politician now being thrown around by a common thief. Smirking, Yima ordered, "Now go help Niva sharpen the blades."

Spitting the sand out of her mouth, Roxanna massaged her sore shoulder while muttering, "Sharpen your own blades…"

All of a sudden, the dagger she tried to use suddenly flew into view, missing her hand by mere centimeters. Frightened but getting the message, Roxanna went to Niva, who was sharpening the swords and daydreaming, and started to help her. "Man…I'm glad Yima held back and didn't kill me with that dagger."

Niva looked at Roxanna with a blank but creepy look. "What do you mean? Yima doesn't hold back…she missed."

Roxanna felt all the color drain out of her face.

Back in the tent, Yima turned her attention back to Tima, who was trembling with fright. "Y-Yima…T-This can't be you…what happened to my loving sister?"

Yima rolled her eyes with a groan. "Don't tell me you're still hung up on that sister crap. You're making me sick!"

Tima sat up, still covering her stomach. "B-But…what happened to you…? Please, Yima…I want to understand…"

Yima's eyebrow twitched at Tima's request. "What happened…? You want to know what happened to me…?" Before Tima could nod, Yima started slapping her little sister viciously. "You have no idea! You don't know what it's like to be taken as a slave, to be beaten, raped, and starving! You don't know what it's like to scratch and claw your way through life!"

Yima would have continued to slap Tima if Eris had not peeked in and pulled her scarred leader back. By that time, the Queen had a bloody nose and felt woozy. But she was still clinging to hope. "Yima…"

Yima tried to attack her sister again but Eris kept a firm grip on her leader. However, she did not cover the scarred Hebrew's mouth, which allowed her to spit venom. "Don't talk to me, bitch! You don't deserve to be my sister!"

Tima felt her heart breaking and, because of her pregnancy, tears started to form in her blue eyes. "Y-Yima…please…"

Having enough, Yima screamed, "Don't 'please' me! You are a disease to my air! I wished that you had never been born!"

Her heart reduced to dust, Tima lowered her head and started to cry. Rolling her eyes, Eris pulled Yima out of the tent. Now alone, Tima laid down and wondered what happened to the sister she had attached to all the good times growing up: bathing together, taking care of each other's needs, Yima telling her little sister stories both made up and those attached to their faith, Tima bringing her older sister anything she thought was pretty, and Yima always being Tima's protector. The last memory made Tima cry even harder. Outside the tent, Yima groaned and plugged her ears. "Damn it, can't she shut up?"

Looking up from making arrows with the Serbian twins, Malik smirked darkly. "You know…I can shut her up…if you know what I mean." Seeing that he had Yima's attention, he added, "You know…something that will _really_ make her cry in silence."

Yima smirked, knowing that Malik was getting at. "Have fun."

Malik smirked a sinister smirk and stood up to head into the tent. The twins looked up and found themselves jealous. They murmured to each other how lucky Tima was and Eris, overhearing, could not believe it. "Really? You two are jealous that she's about to be raped?"

The twins looked up and nodded. Sabeen stated, "Of course, it's more fun that way…" and Lilith ended with, "…especially with someone with those delicious looks."

Eris shook her head with disgust and walked away from them. The twins watched as Malik entered the tent and gave Tima a frightening look, making her back up. "Well, well, well…aren't you a cute one? Normally, I don't go after someone else's victim but, for you, I'll make an exception."

Scared, Tima asked, "W-Who are you?"

Malik's eyes widened a little in his insanity and he grinned psychotically. "What's the matter, your highness? Are you scared of me? Or is it because this is your first time with another guy?"

Tima's eyes widened and she backed up as much as she could with being tied up. "S-Stay away!"

Malik crouched down to Tima's level, keeping his look of insanity on his face. "C'mon, my Queen…I won't bite…too much, that is."

Getting on his hands and knees, he was about to pounce when he sensed that he was being watched. Looking back at the tent entrance, he noticed that it was the twins. He smirked and licked his lips. "Well, this is a first. Come in…I would love to have some company."

As Sabeen and Lilith came in, Tima looked at them. "Please help me!"

Lilith raised her eyebrow. "Why spoil the fun?"

Sabeen agreed. "This can be great foreplay."

Lilith glared at Sabeen, who covered her mouth at her blurting out hers and Lilith's fantasies. Malik blinked in surprise before smirking again. "Oh, believe me…having you two here is really…getting me in the mood."

The twins giggled both darkly and excitedly as Tima's eyes widened with fear; she felt like she was looking at servants of the Evil One. Turning his attention back to Tima, Malik pulled her forward and immediately bit her neck, making her cry out. "Mm…you taste good…I wonder how the rest of you tastes…"

Tima tried to get away but was unable to with Malik keeping a firm grip on her. Grinning in his insanity, he ripped apart her disguise, revealing her white under-dress, and painfully grabbed her breasts. He was ready to fully take her when his hand brushed her stomach. Suddenly a bright light emerged from Tima, blinding the three and forcing Malik back. "What the hell?!"

Tima did not understand what was happening as a tall figure emerged from the light. Seraphita spread her six wings and held up a hand towards Malik. _Be gone, Demon of the Dark One!_

Energy gathered upon Seraphita's hand and, once there was enough, she released the energy into a beam of light. The beam hit Malik, throwing him into the girls and blasting all of them out of the tent. Bakura went up to them and demanded, "What the hell was that?!"

The twins were too hurt to answer but Malik shook his head and sat up. "That bitch has a powerful Ka…"

Coming over, Yima laughed, refusing to believe. But Bakura shut her up by grabbing her neck and making her look into the tent from the new rip. The two of them could see Seraphita, waiting to protect Tima. Seeing it, Yima removed Bakura's hand and growled, "Who the hell is that?!"

Bakura helped Malik up and told Yima, "Something you don't want to mess with."

Inside the tent, Tima sat up a little and looked at Seraphita. Still scared from the attempted rape, she stuttered, "W-W-Who…Who are you?"

After determining that no one would come after Tima again, Seraphita turned around and gave Tima a gentle smile. Tima could feel her lips form a smile as well as she felt a warm radiance and a sense of protection and love coming from this female. Seraphita bowed before the Hebrew before speaking to her with mental speech. _I am your Guardian Seraphita. I was chosen by the Good Lord to watch over and protect you._

Tima could not believe it but welcomed the surprise. _You were sent by God?_

Seraphita nodded. _That is correct. I have wanted to appear before you when the time was right but, due to what was happening, I had to come out and protect you._ Seeing Tima sigh with relief, Seraphita added, _And don't you worry: your husband will be here soon to rescue you. Until then, I will watch over you and your child._

With that, Seraphita disappeared into Tima's heart again. Feeling safe for the first time today, Tima wrapped herself up in a blanket and closed her eyes. A tear fell as she whispered, "Atem…come soon…"

At that moment, Atem was pacing in his study as Lapidos worked to translate the letter. Working with the Greek man, Seth looked up at Atem. "With all due respect, my Pharaoh, please sit down. We're working as fast as we can."

Atem glared at Seth but he felt better as soon as Lapidos finished and read the letter in Atem's tongue: "If you want your Queen back, come alone to the nearest oasis outside the city before sundown. If you do not, she will die."

Atem growled at the threat and Seth shook his head. The closest oasis was by a ghost town, a perfect place to stage an attack. "My Pharaoh, I object to you going alone. This is clearly a trap."

Nearby with the three phoenixes, Jouno looked up from sharpening his dagger. "I agree with the High Priest. This is too risky."

Atem stated, "Your objections are noted. But they have Tima and I need to get her back."

Tarra flew over to Atem. _Atem, you can't go out all by yourself._

Atem smirked. "Who said that I'm going completely alone?" He looked at Seth, Jouno, and the three phoenixes. "This will be tricky but I need all of your help."

After Lapidos left to give them privacy, everyone listened to what Atem had to say.

As the sun started to lower, the thieves, their followers, and Roxanna were getting impatient. Yima growled at Roxanna, "They're taking too long. I knew it was a bad idea to let you write the letter!"

Roxanna shrunk back a little, too scared to argue. Niva crawled over to Yima and put her head on her master's knee. "Yima, we need to be patient…" She was pushed away by the scarred Hebrew but Niva just giggled. "Yima, you're fun when you're mad."

Malik rolled his eyes, still not fully understanding why Niva was so dedicated to Yima. Just then, Bakura came up to them with a dark smirk on his face. "He's here."

Yima and Roxanna looked up, knowing who the "he" was. They got up but Yima knocked Roxanna down. "Who said you could come?"

Getting her spine back, Roxanna stood up and glared at Yima. "I want my revenge against that man as well!"

Yima wanted to yell at Roxanna but Bakura pushed the two women apart and whispered in Yima's ear, "We can get rid of her as soon we're done with the royal couple."

Yima smirked darkly and told Roxanna, "Looks like we're going to team up."

Roxanna grinned darkly, in the dark about the thieves' ultimate plan about her. Bakura went to get Tima and Yima got her sword. "Just think, ladies: the next time you'll see me, I will be rid of the bitch."

Her followers grinned with delight as Malik grumbled, "I still don't see why I can't be a part of this." His tone quickly changed, however, as the twins started to turn him on. "Have fun, bitch."

Yima rolled her eyes and went to get the horses ready, unaware that there were three birds circling above…

Moments later, the four rode off to the oasis. Bakura had gagged and put a bag over Tima's head to add to her fear and put her trembling body across his horse, knowing that Roxanna and Yima would not resist the chance to kill her. As the oasis came into view, they would see Atem was there with two horses, one of them presumably for Tima. Bakura smirked and stopped his horse, prompting the women to stop theirs. Seeing the three, Atem looked at Bakura, assuming he was the leader. "I came alone, just as you wanted."

Tima's head lifted a little at the sound of her husband's voice. Bakura chuckled darkly and pushed Tima's head back down. "I'm surprised you're so good at following orders."

Yima stared at Atem, impatient with her want to kill Tima. Roxanna licked her lips at the sight of the Pharaoh, remembering how handsome he was and how much she wanted him and his power. "Hello, sweetie."

Atem's spine tingled at the sound of Roxanna's voice. But he ignored her, keeping his eyes on the woman with the bag over her head: he made note that she reacted when he first spoke and he did recognize the ring on her finger. Feeling his nerves raising, he ordered, "Let me see her."

Bakura smirked and looked at Yima. "What do you think?"

Yima smirked and got off her horse before going to Bakura's and pulled the woman off the horse. Making her stand and grateful that the victim's hands were still tied, Yima removed the bag and yanked Tima's head back by her hair. "Looking for her?"

His anger growing, Atem was about to step forward when Yima drew a dagger and placed it under Tima's neck, snaking her other hand around one of the Queen's arms. Getting off his own horse, Bakura told Yima, "Hold off on killing her. After all…we want this to last."

Yima sneered in response. Tima tried to run to Atem but Yima kept a firm grip on the Queen and pushed the dagger a little deeper in her neck. "Please do that again; I welcome a chance to kill you in front of your husband."

Atem growled. "Let her go! Now!"

Bakura glared as Roxanna got off the horse and sneered, "You don't have any power here. Look around; your Royal Court is not here to help you out."

Tima whimpered in fear, believing what Roxanna said, prompting Atem to hold his hands to show that he did not have a sword or any sort of weapon. "Please…just let her go…"

Bakura chuckled and was about to step forward when Roxanna grabbed his chest, making him stop. To her surprise, Yima felt her spine tingle at this sight. She was about to yell at the Greek when Roxanna ordered, "Remove your DiaDhank." When the Pharaoh hesitated, the Greek joined Yima's side and clutched Tima's stomach. "Do it or your child will die before your wife."

Now Atem had no choice. As he removed his DiaDhank, Roxanna smirked at the thieves. "You're welcome. Now we won't have any monsters interfering."

Yima blinked in response, not understanding. Bakura grunted his thank you and kicked Atem's DiaDhank away. Atem tried again. "Please…let her go…take me if you wish but leave her out of this…"

Bakura smirked, accepting one part of the invitation. "Not just yet…" Quickly standing up, the albino kicked the Pharaoh in the face, causing Atem to fall with a deep cut on his eyebrow. Bakura's smirk turned evilly. "We're going to have some fun with you first…while your Queen watches."

Roxanna laughed, especially when Tima started to cry. The Greek hissed at the younger Hebrew, "This is going to be so much fun. If only you would have kept your cheap body away from him like you were supposed to."

Yima rolled her eyes at the Greek as Bakura dug his heel into Atem's back. But the older Hebrew hissed in her sister's ear, "Look what your husband is going through, all because of you…still glad you're alive, bitch?"

Tima whimpered as she watched in horror. Ignoring the stinging pain on his face, Atem asked, "So tell me, thief…how much did Roxanna pay you to get you to do her dirty work?"

Growling, Roxanna ran forward and kicked Atem's ribs a few times. Bakura shuddered with delight, relishing in Atem's cries of pain. He then stated, "Don't play dumb with me, Pharaoh. You of all people should know what you and your father, that merciless son of a dog, did."

Atem glared at Bakura: it was bad enough that he and the women were threatening his woman but insulting Aknamkanon was rubbing salt into the wound. Seeing this, Bakura spat on Atem's face and stomped on his spine, causing the Pharaoh to scream in pain. Licking his lips, the albino stated, "Just know this: this could've all been avoided…had your so-called father had a soul."

Roxanna added, "And if you had kept your eye on me instead of that peasant bitch."

With that, the two continued to stomp and kick Atem, relishing in his cries of pain and Tima's cries. Roxanna wanted to stomp on Atem's head to kill him but Bakura stopped her many times, wanting this fun to last. Finally, they paused to take a breath and look at their victim. Atem was covered with blood and bruises. Tima cried bitterly, watching how much he was going through to make sure that she and their unborn child was safe. Bakura pulled Roxanna to his horse so he could get his dagger to deliver the final blow. Yima giggled with sick delight and stated, "Too bad we're alone; everyone should see what we've reduced the powerful Pharaoh to."

Coughing up a little blood, Atem asked with a smirk, "Who said we're alone?"

Everyone looked at him in surprise as Jouno and Seth suddenly appeared in the midst of the oasis: they had been there to the whole time but kept hidden in the shadows and brush by the combined powers of Earthzina and Itami. The two men wanted to stop the attacks on Atem but they were under strict orders to not interfere until they heard those four words. Though the two phoenixes were weak after using their powers, Tarra (who was hiding in the trees) was not: Seth and Jouno shot arrows at the two thieves while Tarra electrocuted Roxanna. But the arrows hit the shoulders and the shock was not enough to kill as Atem wanted the three to be punished later. Now free, Tima went to Atem, still crying at the state he was in. With Tima's back to them, the three enemies wanted to attack again but Earthzina, though weak, used a bit of her powers to make the sand attach to their feet, keeping them pinned. Jouno, now equipped with a DiaDhank of his own, stood before the group as Seth untied Tima's hands and helped Atem up. Tima removed her gag and shook her head at Atem. "Atem…"

Though he was in a lot of pain, the Pharaoh managed to smile at Tima. "You're safe…my love…"

The three enemies could not believe that they were tricked and left as injured as they were. Yima was too busy trying to get the arrow out of her shoulder to do anything else and Bakura knew that, with this injury, he was too weak to summon his Ka. Roxanna, however, was still stubborn enough to not see the truth. "Come on, you two…we can still kill them!" She tried to get up but was stuck in the sand. Resorting to sitting up, she looked at the thieves. "Come on!"

Yima ignored her and Bakura glared. "Bitch, look at us! We can't win!"

Roxanna shook her head, refusing to give up. "No! We can win!"

Rolling his eyes, Jouno got a pebble and flicked at Roxanna's forehead. "Wake up, little girl. You're clearly outnumbered."

Yima and Bakura, to their disgust, knew that Jouno was right; if they wanted to win this war, they had to admit that they lost this battle and wait until they were fully ready. Believing that the message had sunken and ignoring Roxanna's screams, the blond turned back and helped Seth pull Atem up to his feet and onto his horse. Once he and Tima were on the horse, they put their respected phoenixes in their bags on the horse they shared and got on the animal, not looking forward to sharing the horse all the way back to the kingdom. As the two horses started to leave, Yima looked at Bakura. "Nice going."

Bakura grabbed her arrow, making her cry out in pain. "I didn't see you helping out!"

"Hard to do that when I'm holding the hostage!"

Bakura was about to argue back when he noticed Roxanna. Yima turned to look at the Greek and her eyes widened. Roxanna's head was lowered so her eyes were shadowed and something was coming out of her back…

Some ways away, Tima was still crying as she looked at Atem's wounds. "Atem…why…?"

Ignoring his pain, Atem smiled at Tima. "Don't worry about me." Seeing Tima about to protest, he kissed her gently. "A husband does what he can to protect his wife and child."

Tima touched his cheek as Jouno gave a playful whine. "Why can't Kiko love me like that?"

Seth smirked, unable to resist. "Because she has brains."

Jouno growled and was about to elbow Seth when Atem's Sennen Pendant and Seth's Sennen Rod reacted to something nearby that was very evil. Before they could properly react, the sand between the two horses exploded, causing the horses to fall and the four riders to fall. Atem cried out in pain, landing on a bruise, and Tima ran to him while Seth and Jouno recovered and stood in front of the royal couple. Tarra was about to check on her guardian when something attacked her, knocking her out. Seth looked around. "What was that?"

Jouno paled and pointed ahead. "I think it was her."

Coming up on them was a mysterious Ka. It appeared to be female held together almost like a doll with blue skin, black eyes, no hair, and an odd outfit made of metal. Seth recognized it as the Ka that Roxanna had. His suspicions were confirmed when the Ka was shown to be carrying Roxanna in its arm in place of the broken doll it had last time. Roxanna had an insane look in her eyes as she made her Ka stop before the group. Surprising, Roxanna and the Ka spoke as one: "You will not leave today…if I can't have Atem…no one will…"

Seth knew the danger of this: the Ka had attached to Roxanna's soul and was driven by Roxanna's anger. As he activated his DiaDhank, the Ka suddenly widened its eyes and a red beam came out, hitting Seth in the shoulder. Jouno held up Seth, seeing the bloody shoulder and remembering that their phoenixes were too weak to heal them. "Come on, High Priest. Let's get rid of this bitch."

Ignoring his painful shoulder, Seth stood up and pushed Jouno away. "I can take this."

Roxanna and her Ka laughed. "I have waited for this day…to exact my revenge!"

The Ka tried to attack again but Seth was ready this time. Holding up his DiaDhank, he called out, "White Dragon! Defend us!"

The DiaDhank glowed and the White Dragon came forward, attacking with its lightening attack. When the two attacks hit, they cancelled each other, giving a powerful explosion. However, when the smoke cleared, the White Dragon was gone, Roxanna and her Ka were still standing and Seth was the one on his knees panting; thanks to him being injured, it took a lot out of him to summon his Ka. Atem tried to stand to protect his comrade but Seth was stubborn enough to tell the Pharaoh, "I will not let this evil Ka destroy you…"

Atem was about to argue when Jouno beat him to the punch. "Damn it, Seth! You are injured; you know controlling your Ka in this state takes some of your Life Force!" As Seth tried to push the blond away, the guard moved and declared, "Forget it, I'm summoning my Ka! Black Dragon, appear!"

Before Seth could protest, Jouno activated his DiaDhank and summoned his Ka; while he was not part of the Royal Court, he was given a DiaDhank which he kept for emergencies when it was revealed that he had a powerful Ka. Seconds later, a black dragon with red eyes appeared. Jouno ordered his Ka to attack and the dragon spat out a powerful dark-red energy ball towards Roxanna's Ka. The blond believed that he would win but it was not to be as Roxanna's Ka was powered by the Greek's bottomless pit of anger and need for revenge. The Ka sent out its powerful beam again: it cut the attack in half and hit the black dragon, destroying it and bringing Jouno down to his knees coughing up blood as if he got punched in the stomach. Atem and Tima could not believe that their comrades were being hurt like this, especially since they could not do a thing about it. Relishing in her victory, Roxanna and her Ka looked around to see who they should kill first. Jouno and Seth wanted to protect the royal couple but they were too low on Life Force to do so. Soon Roxanna's Ka looked at Tima and Roxanna smirked. "Tima, Tima, Tima…the woman who destroyed me. To think I took you in and this is how you repay me? By betraying and destroying me?! Well, now…I shall destroy you…"

The Ka attacked and Seth and Jouno tried to get in the way to protect their Queen. But Atem beat them to the punch with a very desperate and very dangerous move: the Eye of Horus glowed on his forehead as his Sennen Pendant glowed and he held up his DiaDhank. "Slifer, I call unto you!"

The sky growing dark, lightening struck and the clouds parted to send a powerful attack that stopped Roxanna's Ka's attack. As the God-Ka Slifer appeared, the two attacks exploded and Roxanna and her Ka could not be seen from the dust. Atem thought that he won as he collapsed to the ground as Slifer disappeared. Scared, Tima helped him sit up and noticed how weak he was: he was barely breathing and his eyes were getting glossy. Because of how weak he already was, summoning Slifer left him with nothing but a flicker of Life Force. But the worst was yet to come: the dust settled and Roxanna and her Ka were still there! Roxanna started to laugh in her triumph as Seth and Jouno cursed the situation: their Pharaoh was close to dying and they were low on energy so they could not defend. They started to believe that all was lost when Tima walked past them. "You'll face me now."

Roxanna and her Ka laughed. "You? Do you realize the situation you're in? Look around you: death is at every corner, waiting to strike. There is nothing you can do! You are a slave! You can do nothing!"

The three men looked at Tima, wondering what she was doing. They had never seen her in battle so they did not know what she was capable of. Atem reached for Tima weakly, wanting to protect her, as Tima lowered her head, evaluating the situation. She was Hebrew who came from nothing, whose family was destroyed by bandits, leaving her on her own, whose only family was out for her blood, and she was surrounded by her friends and husband who were dying. With Tima's head lowered, Roxanna and her Ka were about to attack when Tima spoke up: "I am not the same person you once knew, Roxanna…God has given me the trials and I have took them on to be a better person." Lifting her head, she revealed the light of courage in her eyes. "I am Queen Tima of Khment and your actions shall be punished!"

To everyone's surprise, a bright white aura surrounded Tima. Roxanna and Ka hissed at the light. Raising her arms to the sky as if she was praising her God, Tima called out, "Seraphita, appear!"

To everyone's surprise, a powerful Ka came out of Tima's body. Her six wings spreading, the humanoid Ka was wearing angelic armor with a metallic tiara and a sword in her right hand. The three men looked at the Ka in surprise as Tima heard the words she needed to hear: "Heaven's Gate!"

Seraphita lifted her left hand and it started to glow brightly. The darkness was destroyed, replaced with a specter of color. Roxanna's Ka hissed at the light, feeling its power drain under the light. At the same time, the men and the phoenixes felt their power and Life Forces restore to the max. Jouno and Seth were impressed while Atem stared at Tima. She almost seemed like a different woman, stronger and more sure of herself than ever before. Roxanna and her Ka could feel that they were weak, almost dying, but they still refused to admit defeat. They were about to attack when Tima stated, "Your services are no longer required. Celestial Slashing Sword!"

For a brief second, Roxanna woke up, recognizing the line as what Hypatios used to say before they killed a slave. Takings her sword, Seraphita slashed the Ka in half; in doing so, Roxanna was killed instantly and disappeared with her Ka. Taking a deep breath, Tima looked at Seraphita as the light disappeared that reveal it was now early evening. The Ka smiled at her and mentally told her, _Tima…you have passed the trials of our Lord with flying colors. You are now the strong woman He wanted you to become. For that, I shall always be here to serve you and call you my Queen._

Tima smiled. "thank you, Seraphita."

Seraphita bowed her head in respect before returning to Tima. Taking a moment, she touched her heart and stomach, knowing that her guardian and child were there. She then heard, "My love…"

Turning around, she looked and could not believe it. Atem was standing before her, completely healed thanks to Seraphita. Tears forming, Tima ran to him and jumped into his embrace. Atem held her tightly, as if afraid that she could disappear. Seth and Jouno held back, allowing the royal couple to have a moment together. Between sobs, Tima admitted, "I thought…I was going…going to…lose you…"

Atem smiled and kissed her gently before pulling back and wrapping her with his cloak. "I'll never leave you…I promise you and our child."

Tima smiled and leaned into his embrace. Taking a deep breath, Atem looked at Seth and whispered, "We'll need to discuss those two tomorrow."

Seth nodded, knowing that Atem was talking about Bakura and Yima: they were still out there and out for blood. Rubbing Tima's back, Atem led her to the horse and helped her up before getting on and leading his comrades back to the kingdom. Along the way, the men thought about Bakura and Yima. They were a real threat to the royal couple since they had personal reasons to go after them. What they did not know at the moment was that the two thieves saw the battle and felt affected by Seraphita's Heaven's Gate. Realizing that they were not strong enough to attack the kingdom yet, they decided to wait until they were ready. In the dark about the decision, Atem wanted to tighten security so that the kingdom was safe and so he could focus on the most important thing: his kingdom's prosperity and his child's birth. At that thought, he reached down and touched Tima's stomach. "Roxanna is finally gone…our child can grow with no worries now." Tima nodded and smiled in agreement.


	18. New Life

Chapter 18

New Life

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

Many months came and went since Tima's kidnapping. That morning, Atem woke up and rubbed his eyes, trying to get the dream out of his head. Since the abduction, he had been worried that Bakura and Yima would come back and kidnap Tima or their child but knew that his dreams were the worries of a new father, especially since the thieves had disappeared and since security had gotten tighter. Thinking of the birth, he looked at Tima, who was still sleeping on her side. Smiling, he reached over and rubbed her shoulder, waking her up. Looking up, she smiled. "Morning."

Atem smiled and kissed her gently. "Good morning, my love. How did you sleep?"

Tima smiled more and slowly sat up, revealing her swollen stomach. Sighing, she rubbed her stomach. "Really well. The baby didn't move around too much during the night."

Atem nodded and touched her stomach. Feeling the baby move, the Queen giggled. "Any day now…"

Atem nodded and laid his head on her stomach to listen. Tima smiled and stroked her husband's head. She could tell that he was looking forward to meeting their child but sensed that there was a part of the birth that he was not thrilled about so she decided to bring it up: "How do you feel about being outside the room when I give birth?"

Atem paused mid caress to think about it. Deep down, he was not okay with it because he believed that his mother died in childbirth and no one ever told him otherwise because he never voiced his guilt. Had he known the truth, he would not be worrying as much. He wanted to say that he was all right but he could tell by Tima's face that his own had given away his feelings. Taking a deep breath, he sat up and explained, "I know that men are not allowed in the birthing room but…I do not like it. You see…my mother…died giving birth to me…I don't want to lose you that way."

Tima was shocked that he lost his mother that way. But she smiled and kissed him deeply. "Don't worry…I'm not going anywhere."

Atem smiled, feeling a little better. He then remembered what was happening today and got up. "On a lighter note, this will be a big day for you: you'll actually get to help out with one of our meetings." He then chuckled. "Remember how you thought you wouldn't fit in with the politics? Well, you can't say that now."

Tima chuckled, knowing that the only reason they had her was because the meeting was an open meeting where townspeople could come to the Pharaoh and Royal Court with problems; such meetings included a couple of Hebrews and the Royal Court needed her to translate. Still, she was happy to help out. "True. Looks like being born a Hebrew peasant has its perks after all."

Atem smiled as the servants came in to dress them. As Tima was being taken care of, she winced, catching Atem's attention. "Are you all right?"

Tima took a deep breath and touched her stomach. "Yes…yes, I am fine." Seeing that Atem was still suspicious, she smiled and shook her head. "I am fine. It was probably just a cramp. I've had them since last night."

Atem was still suspicious but he stayed quiet, knowing that Tima knew her body better than anyone else. As she was getting dressed, Tima noticed that someone was not there: "Where is Tikali?"

The servant explained, "She said that she would be a little late; she wasn't feeling completely right just yet."

Tima nodded, remembering that Tikali had felt a little odd for some time. "Well, I hope she's all right."

At that moment, Tikali was in her nightgown looking at herself in the mirror. For the past month, something had been bothering her. Seth and Itami could tell from her attitude but she refused to explain, too worried about Seth's reaction. Sighing, she said to herself, "I don't get it…as a servant, I run around all the time, especially with tending to the Queen's food cravings, and I've been eating right. So why am I gaining weight?"

Having flown in at the right time, Itami heard what Tikali said and flew to her shoulder. _Is that what's been bothering you? A little weight gain?_

Blushing at being caught, Tikali lowered her head and lifted her nightgown to reveal her hips, where all the weight gain went. While it was not a lot, it was still noticeable. Itami went down to the desk and started to nuzzle her stomach, a habit she had been doing for months. _Tikali, you know Seth isn't shallow like that._

Sighing again, Tikali reached down and started to scratch the dark phoenix's head. "I know…but he's the high priest. It's expected that he'd be with someone beautiful…not a small girl with big hips. What if…he looks at me in disgust?"

Itami ruffled her feathers in disagreement and was about to voice her disagreement when they heard Seth from behind, "Do you really think of me as that petty?"

Jumping, Tikali pulled down her nightgown and turned around to look at her husband, who had just gotten out of his bath wearing a towel wrapped around his waist. Tikali blushed at the sight but the blush deepened when Seth stepped forward and lifted her nightgown to look at her hips. "This is what has been bothering you?"

Tikali lowered her head, feeling embarrassed that she got caught. "Well…"

Seth did not give her a chance to explain: he cut her off with a deep kiss before telling her, "If you're worrying about your image, have no fear: you are still beautiful in my eyes. Besides…" he added with a little lilt in his voice, "…they say women with fuller hips have more experience."

Tikali blushed deeply with a little squeak as Itami gave a laughing chirp. Since they got married, Tikali quickly learned that Seth had a hidden naughty side. Seeing that she did not seem depressed anymore, he told her, "Stop worrying yourself. Nothing you do will make me look at you with disgust."

Tikali smiled as the two started to dress, though she had trouble with her hips and the dress. She still managed to get the dress on, then noticing Seth's chuckles. "What?" she squeaked.

Seth hugged her close. "Sometimes you are too cute for words." He wanted to keep holding her but she pulled away with a small whimper, making him worry. "Are you all right?"

Tikali nodded. "Yeah…sorry, my breasts have just been tender lately; I think they're growing." Then, seeing the look on his face, she giggled and told him with a wink, "Later, darling."

Seth smirked, which disappeared when Itami teased, _Who would have thought that, under that gruff exterior, you were a big lover?_

Seth growled, "If you tell anyone…"

Itami stopped the bickering with, _Everyone in the palace already knows._ Seth could do nothing but glare, making Tikali giggle.

The open meeting went on for about an hour. Most of the people who came to see the Royal Court were Khment natives who were there to discuss irrigation projects, farming problems and quotas for the annual harvest, and foreign policies with foreign merchants. To Tima's disappointment, she was not used as much as she wanted; while she translated for a Hebrew merchant and farmer, she mostly sat next to Atem and listened to him and the Royal Court discuss the subjects. What made the meeting almost unbearable was that she constantly had cramps that seemed to get closer together. She started to suspect what was happening, especially since she remembered that they started last night, but she was waiting something to happen first before she did anything. Atem noticed her discomfort many times and asked if Tima needed to leave to rest; Tima kept turning him down, not wanting to seem rude to those who were there. Finally, as the people were starting to leave, Atem looked at Tima and noticed that she was wincing again. "Tima, you should get some rest. Forgive me but it looks like you're in a lot of pain."

The Royal Court looked at Tima with concern as she blushed with a smile. "All right, Atem. Since the meeting is over, I think I'll just go and rest for the rest of the day."

Though worried since he knew she was very close to delivering, Atem kept a calm look on his face and kissed her cheek. "Very well. But don't hesitate to have a servant find me if the pain worsens."

Tima nodded, believing that rest was all she needed. But as she started to stand, she winced again and had to sit down. Isis went to her and asked, "My Queen, are you all right?"

Tima was about to answer when she froze, her eyes widening. Sensing what was going on, Tarra and Itami squawked. Everyone wanted to know what was wrong when Tima looked up and said, "I think my water just broke."

At that moment, Tikali and Kiko with Nayru came into the room to deliver drinks to the Royal Court. But, the second they heard that Tima's water had broken, they dropped the cups and went to Tima, helping her up. Kiko immediately took charge since Tima was in pain from her contractions and Atem was close to panicking because of his fear of losing her to childbirth. "Come on, Tima. We need to get you to the birthing room."

Appearing calm, Seth suggested, "Tikali, help the Queen to the birthing room; she needs all the help she can get with walking."

Everyone nodded as Tima was hit with another contraction. Tikali and Kiko helped the Queen out of the throne room with Atem close behind, ignoring the Royal Court's suggestion that he stay and work. Thankfully, the birthing room was not too far. Once there, the midwives took Tima and led her inside. Pushing past his friends, Atem tried to go in but the head midwife blocked the door. "Forgive me, my Pharaoh, but only women are allowed in the birthing room."

Atem wanted to order her to step aside and let him in but he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw that it was Mahad with Seth. Mahad calmly said, "With all due respect, my Pharaoh, it is best that you listen to the midwife."

Atem looked into the room and saw Tima was being prepared with a scared look on her face. He was scared as well but knew he had to put on a brave face for her so he told her, "I shall be with you in spirit, Tima! I know you can do this!"

Whimpering from a contraction, Tima could only nod as the head midwife shut the door. Feeling his fear come back, Atem told Seth and Mahad, "I am staying here until she gives birth."

Everyone was surprised to hear that. Taking a small step forward, Kiko gingerly said, "My Pharaoh, if I may, it is common knowledge that first births always take a long time."

Atem turned and was about to argue when Seth crossed his arms. "If I may, my Pharaoh, there is nothing you can do for her while she is giving birth and there is still work to be done."

Deep down, Atem knew Seth was right but his fear was whispering in his ear that, if he left, he would never see Tima again. Wanting to get his mind back in order, he took off for his bedroom. Tikali and Kiko wanted to stop him but Seth stepped forward. "Mahad and I will talk to him." Tikali nodded as the two men and two women went on their way.

Arriving at the royal bedroom, Mahad knocked on the door. "My Pharaoh? Permission to enter."

From within, they heard permission was granted. Seth and Mahad entered to find Atem sitting on the bed, his head hanging. Mahad wanted to rush forward to check on him but Seth held the priest back. "My Pharaoh, do not hold back; we are here to help you."

Atem stood up and walked to a pillar. He leaned his arm against it and stayed quiet for a moment before speaking: "I wish I could be there."

Mahad took a step forward. "My Pharaoh…if I may, you know it is taboo for a man to be in the birthing room…"

Hearing that, Atem snapped, "I know it's taboo! But…damn it!"

He punched the pillar with his other arm and slowly slid down to one knee. Seth and Mahad could not believe it: they had never seen Atem like this before. The magical priest went to Atem, wanting to help as a friend. "My Pharaoh…"

Atem lowered his head and finally let out his feelings: "I don't want…to lose Tima…the way Father…lost Mother…"

Both knowing the truth about the last Queen's death, Seth and Mahad looked at each other in surprise. Seth took a step forward and asked, "My Pharaoh, what do you mean?"

His feelings taking over him, Atem glared at the Priests. "My mother died giving birth to me…"

Now understanding, Mahad looked at Atem. "My Pharaoh…the Queen did not die giving birth to you." Seeing that he had Atem's attention, Mahad explained, "She died of plague around the time you were learning to walk, my Pharaoh."

Atem was surprised to hear the truth. He could feel the guilt wash away but he was still worried because death during childbirth was common in Khment. Sensing that Atem was about to bring that up, Seth smirked and pointed out, "Besides, you won't lose the Queen and I know why." Atem and Mahad looked back at Seth, curious about why he said that, as the High Priest explained, "She is not the same woman who was given to you by that wretched Greek…or have you already forgotten about the day she saved us, saved you, from death's grip?"

Mahad smiled softly while Atem's eyes widened with realization: Seth was right. Tima was no longer the timid woman he met. The day she took her stand as Queen and faced Roxanna and her evil Ka was the day she became strong. It took a lot of courage for her to face evil; that was showing true strength and childbirth was nothing compared to facing evil. Mahad looked back at Atem with a smile. "You see, my Pharaoh? The Queen will be fine."

Atem took a few deep breaths to let that thought settle in. Once he was calm, he stood up and looked at his priests. "Very well, let us go back." As he started to leave, he added, "And I would appreciate it if you two would keep quiet about this little episode." Seth and Mahad agreed.

For the rest of the day, Atem stayed busy. While he was worried about Tima, he had faith that the gods would give her enough strength to survive birth; still, he wanted to be outside the door when Tima actually gave birth so he had Jouno stay outside the door to let him know. Finally, when the sun was starting to set, Atem was finishing a meeting when Jouno came. Seeing him, the Pharaoh stood up a little. "Is she…?"

Jouno nodded. "I overheard the midwife starting the birthing spell."

The Royal Court all looked up in anticipation: the heir to the throne was coming. Atem did not hesitate: he got up and headed to the birthing room. When he got there, however, he froze as he heard Tima moaning and screaming in pain. While it was common knowledge that birth was a painful experience, actually hearing it scared Atem. To keep calm, he remembered that Tima was a strong woman; still, he prayed to Taweret, the goddess of pregnant women, that she would help Tima through this birth. The birth took about twenty minutes, enough time for the rest of the Royal Court, Jouno, and Kiko to come and wait to meet the new heir. Since Atem was focused on what Tima was going through, he did not notice that Aknadin was not there; the rest of the Court noticed, however, but decided to not bring it up, not wanting to give Atem more stress. Finally, there was a loud scream from the birthing room followed by the cries of a newborn. Atem looked up and went to open the door but it was still locked. He hoped that it was locked simply to keep men out and not because of something bad. A few minutes later, the door opened and the head midwife poked her head out with a smile. "My Pharaoh…"

Atem was nervous but entered, the Royal Court staying behind to give Atem a chance to meet his firstborn. The room was simple with a mattress and headrest, a mat and cushion, and a birthing stool. Tima was sitting on the birthing stool, wrapped in a blanket and holding a bundle against her chest. She looked exhausted with sweat on her face and her hair all messed up. Gently approaching her, Atem whispered, "Tima…" Tima looked up at him and smiled tiredly, making Atem smile. "You did it…"

Tima just nodded, too tired to speak. Proud of her and happy that she survived, Atem kissed her forehead and looked down at the bundle. Smiling more, Tima pulled back the blanket a little and whispered, "Meet your son…"

Atem looked down and his heart melted. In the bundled blankets was a baby boy. What was interesting was that the infant had black hair with red tips and little blond, lightning shaped bangs; he looked like an innocent version of his father. Seeing Atem's reaction, Tima kissed her son's forehead, making him coo softly. "We need to think of a name."

Atem went closer, keeping his eye on the newborn. "Hmm…what name shall suit you, my son?"

Tima started to think. "It should be very unique…yet fit him."

The couple thought of a few minutes. Tima was about to suggest a Hebrew name when Atem whispered, "Heba…" Seeing Tima's look, he explained, "It means 'game' in my tongue."

Tima thought about it and smiled, looking down at their son. "Prince Heba of Khment…I love it."

Atem smiled as Heba started to open his eyes. To his parents' delight, his eyes were purple, like Atem's, but appeared bigger, truly showing his innocence. Atem chuckled. "He's so cute."

Tima nodded, still exhausted from giving birth. "Can you hold him for a while? I'm really tired."

Atem nodded and took the newborn. The baby fussed a little at being moved but settled down as soon as Atem held him. The Pharaoh smiled lovingly, enjoying the feeling of being a father, as Tima laid down on the mattress. She enjoyed watching Atem hold their son. As she stretched her neck, she noticed the Royal Court outside. Turning to her husband, she asked, "Should we introduce them to Heba?"

Atem nodded and looked up to grant them entrance. As everyone entered, Atem stood up and adjusted the blanket so Heba could be seen. It was then that he noticed that Aknadin was not there. While disappointed, he waved it off and smiled at the rest of the court. "My friends…I present you my son, Prince Heba."

Everyone looked towards the new heir to the throne. Seeing him for the first time and noticing how much he looked like his father, they smiled and bowed their heads to the newborn, making his parents smile. With the phoenixes, Jouno and Kiko came in and looked at Heba. The phoenixes chirped happily at the sight of the newborn. Jouno grinned and patted Atem on the shoulder. "He looks just like you, Atem."

Kiko squealed quietly, not wanting to upset the baby. "He's perfect. I can't wait to spoil him."

Seeing everyone, Heba started to fuss since he was not used to this many people. Hearing him, Tima sat up. "Let me take him."

Atem nodded and sat next to Tima before passing the infant to her, making Heba settle down. Looking up, she noticed, "Where is Tikali?"

Itami explained, _She has a bad headache so she retired for the night. But she sends her blessings._

Tima nodded as the head midwife approached her. "Forgive me, my Queen, but the birthing room is not a place to spend the night, especially with a newborn."

Tima nodded and, with Atem's help, stood up from the mattress with Heba. She was a little wobbly but determined to walk back to the bedroom. Passing the baby to Kiko to hold real quick, Tima turned around to tighten the blanket around her body and smiled at Atem. "Get ready for a lot of sleepless nights."

Atem smiled, knowing that it would be worth it, as Tima took Heba and started to head to the bedroom with Atem, passing the Royal Court who bowed to silently thank her for giving them an heir. As soon as the royal couple arrived at the room, Heba started to fuss so Tima sat on the bed and tried to nurse her son. To her happiness, Heba latched on and started to feed, making Atem smile. "He's a fast learner."

Tima nodded and stroked her son's head with her free hand. "Were you a fast learner when you were little?"

Atem just nodded, too focused on watching Tima feed Heba. It was an amazing and beautiful sight. "The people will love him."

Tima looked up, remembering that the people needed to know that the heir had been born. "When will they see him?"

Atem started to get in his night clothes. "In a few days, he will be presented to the town, the same way you were presented." Looking at her, he noticed that she looked a little nervous about him being presented. "I can understand if you want to delay it."

Tima smiled and shook her head, "No…our people have the right to see our son."

Now in his night clothes, he sat next to her. "Are you sure?"

Tima nodded and looked down at Heba, who seemed to be getting tired from feeding. She smiled and commented, "He is perfect…" Atem nodded with a smile.

A couple of days later, Tima was wrapping Heba in a blanket to prepare him to be presented. She was tired because her son woke her up a lot with his needs and wants but she was happy even so. Finally having him swaddled, she picked him up. "You ready for today?"

Heba gave her an innocent look, unaware of what was going on. Smiling at him, she looked up when Atem asked, "Is he ready?"

Tima looked up to see Atem waiting by the door with Tarra. Nodding, she joined them and they headed to the balcony where they met the Royal Court and Shimon. Tima noticed that Aknadin was there but he was taking great care to not look at her and Heba. She was about to tell him off when Shimon asked merrily, "How is the little one today?"

Atem smiled and stroked Heba's head. "He's fine. I just pray that the people will love Heba."

Shimon chuckled. "My Pharaoh, they will love the little Prince. Why, this reminds me of when your father presented you…and here you are with your lovely Queen, presenting your own son."

Atem smiled, remembering his father. He was sad that Aknamkanon was not alive to meet his grandson but took happiness in the fact that Aknamkanon was watching over them. Smiling at Shimon, Tima asked, "So how does this work?"

Atem explained, "Well, as Pharaoh, I will be presenting the heir with you by my side."

Tima nodded and smiled down at Heba, hoping he would not cry. Seeing his family calm, Atem touched Tima's shoulder and led her to the balcony. Once they were in view, the townspeople cheered for them and with excited anticipation to see the new Prince. Hearing this, Tima smiled and looked down at Heba. "Our people came to see you, Heba. You are a very special person to everyone."

Heba cooed, not understanding, as Atem began to address the people. "Citizens! After many moons of waiting, our beloved Queen has given birth. On this day, I, as your Pharaoh, am honored to present to you the new heir of the Kingdom of Khment!"

With that, he took Heba in his arms. He was about to present him when he remembered something his father told him he did when Atem was presented: he tickled Heba's nose a little, making the baby smile. Tima smiled brightly, especially when Atem held up Heba, making the people cheer. The Queen kept her ears open, ready to take her son at the slightest whimper. But, to her delight, she heard him coo and saw that he was smiling, which made the natives cheer even more. After a minute, Atem brought Heba down into his arms. "They love you, Heba."

Heba cooed in response, making Tima smile. "I prayed that everything would go smoothly. I'm surprised that he was smiling."

Atem nodded. "He's a brave boy."

Tima nodded and took Heba in her arms, knowing that Atem had meetings to go to. Kissing Tima gently, he passed Tarra to her shoulder. "Tarra, do me a favor: keep my wife and son company while I'm working."

Tarra nodded as Tima took her and Heba back to the bedroom. Along the way, Tarra looked down at Heba. _Hello, little one. Aren't you the cutest thing?_

Tima smiled, especially as Heba whined a little at the sight of the phoenix; even though he had seen Tarra a few times, he was not used to hearing her voice in his head. "It's all right, Heba."

Heba looked at Tima as they arrived at the bedroom where Tima laid Heba down on the bed and she laid next to him with Tarra on the other side of the baby. _He is so cute! I want to nuzzle him!_

Before Tima could stop her, Tarra started to nuzzle Heba, only to make him fuss. The phoenix pulled away and, to make him feel better, started to sing a beautiful Phoenix Song. Heba stared up at Tarra with innocent eyes, making Tima smile, especially as Heba started to fall asleep from the song. By the time Tarra was done, Heba was sound asleep so Tima turned to Tarra. "Thank you, Tarra; that was beautiful." Looking down at her son, she smiled and kissed his forehead. "He's our little angel…a new chapter in our live has begun."

Tarra nodded, neither of them aware that Tikali was watching from the door. As happy as she was for Tima, she was also jealous because she and Seth had tried for so long to have a child and it just did not seem to be happening. The idea of not giving Seth a child depressed her. She hoped that she would have a child soon. Little did she know what faith had in store for her…

A month later, Tikali and Itami were keeping Tima and Heba company in the gardens. While she was still jealous, Tikali was more happy since she could see how happy Tima was. Looking at Heba, she giggled. "He is so cute. Look at those curious eyes of his."

Tima nodded and kissed her son's head. "Yes. He does love the garden."

Tikali nodded and picked a rose for Heba to smell. When the infant smelled the rose, he sneezed and then blinked in surprise. The two women could not help but laugh at how adorable he was. As Tikali set the rose aside, she thought of something: "Has Aknadin presented himself to Heba yet?"

Letting Itami nuzzle Heba, who had by now gotten used to phoenix nuzzles, Tima sighed and shook her head. She was disappointed that the priest was holding onto his prejudices towards her and taking it out on her son. "I don't understand him…how could he be this way towards my son?"

Itami gave a scoffing chirp. _That old man just can't move away from traditions._

Tikali sighed. "Yeah…he's the same way with me. At least we have the rest of the Royal Court to look after us."

Tima nodded and was about to add something else when she felt Heba wiggle a little. Giggling, she looked down at him and wondered, "I hope Atem is all right." Seeing Tikali's confused look, the Queen explained, "This little one kept waking us up. You, mister, should know that your father needs his sleep when he had important meetings the next day."

Tikali giggled, imagining Atem trying not to fall asleep during the meetings. She was about to say something about the image when she winced, watching Tima's attention. "Are you all right?"

Tikali took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah…I'm probably about to start."

Tima accepted that and stood up with Heba. "Well, how about we move into the bedroom? That way, you can rest."

Tikali nodded and stood up, only to go back down to the knees with a look of pain on her face and her arms covering her stomach. Itami went down and started to nuzzle her. _Tikali, are you all right?!_

Tikali yelped in pain and managed to get out, "Get Seth…"

Tima nodded but was stuck since Heba started to cry from Tikali's yelp startling him. Unable to do both, she told Itami, "Stay with Tikali and I'll get some servants to help."

Itami nodded, knowing that only Tima could calm down the infant. As Tima quickly set out to find servants, Tikali curled up in the fetal position, her pain now increasing. She was scared, especially since the pain felt like there was something trying to get out of her. "What's…happening…to me?"

Itami sensed what was happening and decided to explain. _Tikali…I've been keeping something from you…_

Tikali looked up but did not get a chance to ask as her pain continued and Kiko and a couple of other servants arrived. Seeing how much pain she was in, they helped her up to her feet, which was a hard task because the small Hebrew kept bending in half in pain. Itami watched and felt a little guilty but she knew that guilt would have to wait: she needed to alert Seth so she flew to the throne room and immediately took Seth's hat, making him growl, "What was that for?"

Itami started to fly around Seth. _You need to come! Tikali is in a lot of pain!_

Hearing that, Seth paled and started to leave, only to pause when Aknadin demanded, "Where are you going? There is still work to be done."

Giving back the hat, Itami hissed at the old priest as Seth glared and put his hat back on. "My wife is in trouble and you should know by now that she is more important."

Aknadin was about to argue when Atem let Seth go, declaring that they would continue once Seth knew that Tikali was okay. Hearing that, Seth and Itami wasted little time to go to the healing room but the door was locked. Seth grew very worried, especially since he could hear Tikali screaming inside. These were not normal screams: they were the screams of someone who was in immense pain. Seth pounded on the door but no one answered, agitating him. "Damn it, what is going on in there?!"

Perched on a nearby pot, Itami decided to come clean. _Seth…Tikali is in labor._

Seth froze and slowly looked up at Itami in shock. "What…did you say?"

Itami looked at Seth. _The reason why I keep nuzzling her stomach…being on her case about eating right and exercising…helping her when she was stressed…is because she's been pregnant for the past nine moons._

Still in shock, Seth started to head to Itami. "What the hell do you mean she's been pregnant? She did not look like she was expecting."

Understanding that Seth was upset, Itami flew up to his eye level. _This is a mysterious pregnancy. And, before you get all over my case about not telling you…_

Furious about being kept in the dark, Seth grabbed Itami by the neck. "How the hell could you not tell us?! She could die because you did not tell us!"

Itami struggled to break free, wanting to explain that she chose not to explain because it was the lesser of two evils (better to have Seth a little broken if he did not know about the pregnancy and Tikali did not make it versus him being completely broken if he knew that she died from childbirth). She tried to tell him but his mind was too distracted by Tikali's screams; in fact, the phoenix was only set free when the screams stopped. Tossing Itami away, Seth went to the door, only to find that it still locked. He started to panic, thinking that something was very wrong as he pounded on the door and demanded to be let in. After a few long minutes, the medicine woman opened the door with her head down. Thinking the worse, he rushed in and paused at the sight: Tikali was laying on a bloody mattress with her eyes closed. The High Priest suddenly found that he could not breathe. "No…please…"

The medicine woman just said, "I am so sorry…the pain was too much to handle…"

Seth's heart sunk as he went to her and tried to shake her awake. When that did not work, he tried yelling at her with tears forming. The medicine woman stayed in a far corner to give him privacy as Seth felt his heart breaking: first it was Kisara sacrificing herself to save him and now it was Tikali with a hidden pregnancy. Itami flew in and landed on Seth's shoulder, only to be pushed off. "Leave me…" Itami tried to apologize again when Seth yelled, "Leave me!"

Feeling guilty that she told him and reduced him to a broken man, Itami stayed next to the mattress as Seth lowered himself onto Tikali, clutching her dress and burying his head into her shoulder. "Please…Tikali…you can't leave me…"

Itami started to coo sadly when she noticed something and chirped to get Seth's attention. Seth was too depressed to notice until he felt someone tugging on his cape. Looking up, he gasped as his eyes widened: Tikali was alive! "S-Seth?"

Tears falling, Seth sat up and hugged Tikali tightly. "Tikali! Oh, Tikali! Thank the gods!"

Tikali hugged him back, glad that she was back. For those few moments, she was in the grey area between life and death and, when she did not wake up, she heard Celestia tell her that it was not her time yet. Pulling back, she kissed Seth deeply. "Seth…I'm sorry I scared you…"

Seth shook his head and smiled as the tears continued to fall. "It's okay…you're still alive…just don't ever scare me like that again…"

Tikali chuckled a little and nodded. That's when apprentice came forward with a bundle in her arms. Looking up, Tikali shook her head in disbelief. "How is this possible?"

The apprentice shook her head. "I do not know…I have never seen anything like this."

Seth looked at Itami. "You have some explaining to do."

Tikali pulled away from Seth. "Later…I want to meet our child."

The apprentice smiled and passed the bundle to Tikali, who gasped with delight. In the bundle was a tiny baby boy with black hair. Seth looked down at the newborn and could not help but smile. They had prayed for so long for a child and their prayers were answered, albeit in a mysterious way. Looking at the hair, she smiled as tears started to form. "Black hair…my father had black hair…"

Seth looked down at the baby, glad that there was a good reason they had a child with black hair. He then smiled and stroked the infant's head. "He's perfect."

Tikali smiled and looked at Seth. "You want to hold him?"

Seth froze a little but nodded so Tikali gently passed the boy to him. The newborn fussed a little but settled down once he was in his father's arms. Looking down at their son, Seth could not help but admire the little one: this was his son that he and Tikali made. He was about to discuss the baby's name with Tikali when he noticed that Itami was still there. Stiffening, he demanded, "Care to explain yourself?"

Tikali looked at Itami, who nodded. _Seth, you must understand: I wanted to tell the two of you. But I was worried about what would happen if Tikali did not survive since this is a very unusual pregnancy. The last thing I wanted to see was you broken like you were when Kisara died. So I chose the lesser of two evils._

Tikali started to understand. "Better to be a little broken at my sudden death than completely broken if Seth knew that I was carrying his child."

Itami nodded and looked at Seth. While the High Priest was still upset, he did understood why now; not only that but he could feel the guilt that resided in her mind. So, unable to with the baby in his arms, he said to Tikali, "Can you scratch her head for me?"

Tikali giggled and did that. She then asked, "What shall we call him?"

Wanting his son to have the perfect name, Seth thought for a moment before coming up with a good answer: "Mesu. It means son."

Tiki smiled and nodded, agreeing that their son should be called Mesu. Sitting next to Tikali, Seth continued to hold and admire Mesu until there was a knock at the door. Suddenly remembering that he rushed out of a meeting, Seth gave the newborn back to Tikali. "I'll be right back: I have to tell everyone that you're all right."

Tikali nodded as Seth went to the door and opened it, meeting Atem and the Royal Court. Concerned, Atem asked, "Is everything all right?"

After making note that Aknadin was not there, Seth nodded. "Yes…better than all right, in fact. Tikali…had a baby."

Everyone was shocked to hear that. Shada asked, "How is that possible?"

Shaking his head, Seth said, "We don't know. But we're grateful for the results."

Mahad smiled and touched Seth's shoulder in congratulations as Isis asked, "Can we see your new child?"

Seth politely shook his head. "I think Tikali and our son Mesu need to rest."

Everyone nodded and started to disperse. Atem hung out for a few more seconds to say, "I'm going to tell Tima that your wife is all right. After all, Tikali gave her a scare."

Seth nodded and stayed outside to think about how much different his life was compared to this morning: he was now a father. While it pained him that he would have to teach his son how to be a man when his own father died before he could do that, Seth was up to the challenge and was determined to make sure that his son grew up to be a strong and noble man. As he turned around to go back into the room, he heard, "So I hear she lived…"

Seth looked to his left to see Aknadin standing there. Glaring a little, he said a little tersely, "Yes, thank you for joining the rest of the Royal Court in checking on my wife."

Aknadin said nothing to that, making Seth scoff and reach for the door. That was when Aknadin asked, "I must ask: why the sudden change?"

Seth looked up at Aknadin in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Aknadin crossed his arms. "You were never like this: running out of a meeting to check on someone."

Seth's eyes narrowed. "That someone is my wife! If you had a wife, you would be do the same thing!"

While Aknadin knew that was true, there was one difference and he pointed it out: "I would never worry about someone beneath us. In fact, it is because of today that I wonder about your judgment…it appears that your judgment is becoming poorer by the day."

Seth growled and fully looked at Aknadin. "My judgment is as sound as it has ever been!"

Aknadin looked at the door, keeping his arms crossed. "Really? Ever since those women came to the palace, you and the Pharaoh have been different." He then shook his head. "They're not even women…more like parasites infecting the right way and poisoning the true bloodline."

That was crossing the line with Seth: he was about to lose it when the two men heard a very loud voice say, "That is enough!" The two men looked behind Seth and saw that Atem was standing there with Tima and Heba; Tima had asked to check on Tikali and the royal couple overheard what Aknadin said. Furious, Atem kept Aknadin from talking so that he could speak. "What you have said is unforgivable. Let this day be known, priest Aknadin: you WILL accept Queen Tima as your Queen, our son Prince Heba as the heir to the throne, and Tikali as Seth's wife."

Seth smirked, knowing that Atem's words were cutting to the old man. Looking at Aknadin and his dark glance, Heba started to cry in fear so Tima started to soothe him. Seeing Aknadin turn away, Seth smirked some more and crossed his arms. "So be it, Priest Aknadin: until you have full accepted this, you will be reminded of your status and who you serve under."

Atem nodded in agreement, glad that he and Seth were on the wavelength. He could also tell that Aknadin was not thrilled with being reminded that, of the three men, he was the lowest in ranking. Unable to argue and knowing that he had to at least pretend to accept it, Aknadin bowed his head and left. Sighing, Tima nuzzled Heba. "I would have thought he would have accepted this by now."

Seth shook his head and was about to insult Aknadin but Atem cut him off with, "At least he will not insult you ladies anymore. Speaking of, Tima and I want to meet your son."

Seth smirked with pride. "Give me a minute to make sure she is comfortable." The royal couple nodded as Seth went back into the healing room. Once there, he saw that Tikali and Mesu had moved to a cleaner bed and Tikali was laying on her side, feeding Mesu while he lay next to her with her hand on him to keep him steady. Smiling, he went forward and sat in front of her. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

Tikali smiled with a small blush. "Oh, Seth…you always know the right words to say to me."

Seth reached over and touched Tikali's shoulder. "That's because you deserve every word."

Tikali smiled and looked down at Mesu. Thinking of how tired Tima constantly was, she looked back at Seth. "You know, it's going to be tough. Are you sure you're ready for the sleepless nights that await us?"

As Itami perched herself on Seth's shoulder, Seth smirked and teased, "Did I not already have sleepless nights with satisfying my love?"

Tikali blushed deeply as Itami gave a chirping laugh. Looking down at their son, she said, "I'm glad that you're okay, Seth."

Seth looked up in surprise. "Me? Tikali, you're the one who almost died."

"I know…but…you were pretty broken when I woke up."

Seth reached over and stroked Tikali's hair. "You scared me when you would not wake. The very idea of living without you…I must admit, it frightens me. I love you…so much."

Tikali looked up and smiled. "And I cannot live without you either. I love you with all my heart."

Leaning forward, Seth touched his forehead to hers, making her smile. "Then let's promise to stay with one another…for eternity."

Tikali smiled and kissed him gently. "Forever and a day."

Seth smiled and pulled back to see that Mesu was done feeding. Once he was done, Tikali burped him and got help from the medicine woman with swaddling Mesu; once he was swaddled, the two let the royal couple in to meet Mesu. Tima and Atem thought that Mesu was adorable and were happy for their friends. With Heba and now Mesu born, things were looking up for the two families as they knew that their lives were going to be filled with nothing but blessings from here on.


	19. Five Years

Chapter 19

Five Years

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

Five years went by and the kingdom prospered: harvest was plentiful, the Nile provided a lot of fish and other wildlife, and domestic and foreign relations were strong. While there were a few rough patches with border disputes and a few invasions, the kingdom always got through them. The townspeople thanked the gods and their Pharaoh and Queen daily, grateful for their leadership. Another treat that they had was the chance to see the royal couple or one or both of the children who were growing up at the palace.

Five year old Heba lived up to his name: he loved games and played them when he could. Since he was so young, he was not ready to be trained to inherit the throne so he and Tima could play all day. But there was one person he loved to play with above all and that was his father. What made playing games with Atem so fun was that Atem never held back and, therefore, always won; Tima often told him to let Heba win a few times but Atem refused, wanting to teach their son to be strong in the face of defeat and to teach him that losses would help him appreciate his eventual win. Tima could accept that, especially since Heba never cried when he lost, only pouted. The two of them did not know that Atem did not hold back for a third reason: to teach Heba to be strong since the child, while had his brave moments, was shy and innocent, a complete opposite to his best friend Mesu.

Mesu was so energetic that he was nicknamed the wild child. Watched and cared for by Tikali, he was constantly running around the palace, playing with Heba in the garden, exploring hidden passages, and playing tricks on Heba and the servants. In fact, playing tricks was his specialty because of how small and fast he was; he even played a few tricks on Tikali out of love, even though he knew that doing so would get him a fierce scolding. Though a little annoyed with the tricks he played on her, Tikali still loved her son deeply, clear by letting his black hair grow down to the middle of his back (Seth always wanted to cut it short but Mesu hated the idea of his hair shorter). But there was one person whom he never played tricks on and that was Seth. It was clear that Mesu was very devoted to Seth, always wanting to be by his side so he could learn from him and hopefully grow up to be just like his father.

One day, everyone gathered into the throne room for practice Ka battles. Mesu and Heba were especially excited because this was the first time they would witness one and it added to the excitement that the two practicing the last Ka battle were their fathers. Heba was looking forward to seeing a Ka battle and Mesu just wanted to see how amazing his father was. As they were waiting, Mesu leaned towards Heba and whispered, "Hey, Heba…I bet a silver coin that my father is going to win this round."

Heba giggled and whispered back, "No. You still owe me a silver coin for the last bet we made."

Mesu was about to argue that he would pay Heba back once he had a silver coin when Tikali looked at them. "That's enough, you two."

Tima smiled but agreed. "You know your fathers don't like it when you two bet."

Heba nodded but Mokuba gave Tikali an innocent look with his grayish-blue eyes, making Tikali chuckle. Heba then asked, "Will you battle, Mommy?"

Tima looked down at her own DiaDhank, which she got after Heba was born. "I wish but, unlike Daddy, I can only control one Ka. Besides, Daddy is more fun to watch."

Heba tilted his head, a little curious since he was too young to understand that it was Tima's faith that kept her from using any other Ka other than Seraphita, evident by her DiaDhank only having one wing. Tima smiled and stroked her son's hair the Ka battle began. Atem smirked as his DiaDhank glowed. "Are you ready, Seth?"

Seth smirked as his own DiaDhank glowed. Even though this was just a practice run, they were going to go all out for a few reasons: enemies do not hold back, they were rivals as well as comrades and friends, and Atem was undefeated against Seth. Determined to win, Seth brought his best out: "As always, my Pharaoh, prepare yourself! Appear to me, White Dragon!"

Seconds later, the White Dragon appeared from the slab behind the High Priest, making Mesu jump to his feet with excitement. "Yes! Father's best is here!"

Atem smirked, knowing that this was Seth's best Ka. However, there was a flaw in Seth's actions and it was one that the High Priest had yet to learn: hubris. Not wanting to give it away, Atem silently called for his Ka of choice and out of Atem's slab came…a small, brown, furry creature with green claws and large purple eyes squeaking "Kuri!" There was silence for a moment until Mesu started to laugh. Heba blushed, thinking that his father made a mistake since it was very obvious that this hairball was going to be destroyed by the White Dragon. The two wives, however, chuckled; this was a common move for Atem for it was the best Ka to teach lessons with. Blinded by hubris, Seth scoffed. "You choose a weakling against my mighty dragon?"

Atem smirked, knowing that this would be a lesson that would take a while to fully learn. "He's not as weak as you think."

Mesu continued to laugh, forgetting that he was basically laughing at the Pharaoh. Worried, Heba looked at Tima. "Mom?"

Tima smiled and stroked her son's hair. "Just watch, sweetie."

Still blinded and forgetting the old trick, Seth smirked and ordered the White Dragon to attack the slab itself, destroying it to pieces. Unfortunately, the Ka appeared on all the pieces, causing it to multiple and attach themselves to the White Dragon, grounding it and making it cry out in outrage. Thinking of the perfect line to say to Seth to remind him about this lesson, Atem smirked and asked, "Are you ever not going to fall for that?"

Seth growled in humiliation, leaving the children in shock: the littlest Ka brought down the mightiest of dragons. Thinking that something must have gone wrong, Mesu pointed to the Kas as they started to fade and looked at Tikali. "Mother, can the Pharaoh really do that?"

Tikali chuckled and hugged Mesu from behind. "Apparently he just did."

Heba was in shock at how the battle was and how Atem brought down one of the strongest Kas in existence. "Wow! I never knew Daddy could do that!"

Tima smiled and kissed Heba's temple. "That's because he knows that every Ka, no matter how weak it might seem, can have a hidden power if used properly that can lead to victory."

Heba smiled and looked as the small Kas started to disappear. Curiosity growing, he stepped forward and reached for one. Sensing something, Mahad watched the prince as one of the Kas noticed and went to Heba. Giggling at how cute it was, Heba touched its fur and started to laugh as the Ka nuzzled his cheek. Everyone was so surprised that someone as young as Heba could touch and have a connection with a Ka. Moving to Atem, Mahad stated, "My Pharaoh…I believe the Prince has inherited your power."

Just as surprised as everyone, Atem nodded as Heba looked up, blinking with confused innocence. "What?"

Going forward as the last little Ka disappeared, Atem said, "You touched that Ka." Seeing Heba blink again, Atem explained, "It takes a lot of power to do that."

Heba tilted his head and made a questioning squeak; being five, he barely understood magic. Seeing this, Mahad stepped up to the Pharaoh and bowed. "My Pharaoh, with your permission, I would like to take Heba under my wing. I believe I can help him develop his power."

Atem smiled and agreed. Heba smiled as well since Mahad was his favorite priest of the Royal Court. With the practice battles done, the royal family went to the dining room to enjoy lunch. However, as soon as Tima smelled the food, she quickly ran out of the room. Worried, Atem and Heba followed and soon found her throwing up over a ledge. Heba wanted to hug her but Atem held him back, not wanting to risk him catching the illness, especially since he remembered that Tima had not been feeling 100% for the past few days. Once she was done being sick, Tima stood up and wiped her mouth. Seeing her family, she smiled softly. "I'm okay now."

Atem insisted, "We should still take you to the medicine woman to make sure everything is all right."

Tima wanted to protest but she knew she had to agree in front of Heba. "All right, let's go now."

Putting one arm around Tima and holding Heba's hand with his other, Atem led his family to the medicine woman's room. Once there, Tima suggested she go in alone, making Heba whine. Smiling, she went down and kissed her son's forehead. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'll be all right."

As she went in, Heba hugged Atem's legs, making the Pharaoh smile. "Your mother's a tough woman, Heba." Heba looked up, still worried, so Atem picked him. "Listen, the medicine woman always takes a long time. What do you say we go play Senet while we wait?"

Heba immediately brightened up and nodded eagerly at the mention of his favorite board game. Seeing that the young child was feeling better, Atem took him to his room to play.

About an hour later, Heba was pouting his usual pout at losing. Atem chuckled and ruffled his son's hair. "You'll defeat me one day."

Heba smiled at the idea of defeating Atem. They were about to play another game when there was a knock at the door and Tima stuck her head in. "Am I interrupting?"

Heba immediately ran to Tima and hugged her, glad that she looked better. Standing up, Atem asked, "How are you feeling?"

Hugging Heba close, Tima gave a knowing smile to Atem. "Well…it turns out I'm not sick…my body is just doing what comes naturally." Seeing Atem's confused face, Tima took Heba's hand and went to Atem to kiss him. "Remember the last time I was sick for a few days at the mere sight of food? Well…it's happening again."

Realizing what that meant, Atem smiled and hugged Tima. Heba tilted his head, completely confused. "Mommy not sick?"

His parents looked down at Heba and smiled. Taking Heba's hand, Tima led him to his bed so she could sit down and look him in the eyes. "Mommy is all right…better than all right, in fact; something special is happening." Seeing she had his attention, Tima said, "You're going to be a big brother because Mommy is going to have a baby."

Heba was surprised and excited at the idea of being a big brother and having someone else to play with. However, he was still very confused, evident by him asking, "Where is the baby?"

Atem sat next to Tima and touched her stomach. "Growing inside here." Seeing Heba get even more confused, the Pharaoh chuckled and stated, "Don't worry, you'll understand as time goes on."

Heba pouted, hating that answer since Atem always seemed to say it when there was a big answer involved. Seeing her son's pout, Tima could not help but giggle and hug her son. "Just know that you're going to be a big brother to your new brother or sister."

Hugging Tima back, Heba nodded and then pulled back to ask, "When will the baby come?"

Atem chuckled and ruffled Heba's hair. "Heba, these things take time."

Seeing that Heba was about to ask his favorite question ("why?"), Tima told him, "It takes time for a baby to grow as it is the way God intended."

Heba blinked at that, especially since he knew that Tima and Atemu had different faiths. But he was still happy at the idea of being a big brother. "I'll be the best big brother! Can I teach the baby my games?"

Tima smiled and kissed her son's temple. "Of course. When the baby is here and a bit older, you can teach him or her all the games you know." As Heba cheered, the Queen looked at the Pharaoh. "We need to tell the palace the good news."

Hearing that, Heba raised his hand in excitement. "Me tell!"

Atem and Tima chuckled and agreed. They were so happy that Heba was able to take the news so easily; they worried that he would be like most little kids and be upset and/or jealous about the idea of a new child being on the way. As Tima held their son close to let him wonder about her pregnancy, Atem called forth servants and told them to have everyone gather in the throne room.

Minutes later, everyone was in the throne room, eagerly awaiting the news. Standing between his parents' thrones, Heba was almost bouncing, eager to tell everyone, which made Tima very happy. When he saw that everyone was there, Atem opened with, "Friends and comrades, my family and I have big news."

As soon as Atem stopped speaking, Heba excitedly yelled, "I'm going to be a big brother!"

Tima chuckled with delight and nodded as she stroked her son's hair. "Heba speaks the truth: Atem and I are having another baby."

The Royal Court smiled their congratulations, except Aknadin who was not pleased but nodded to avoid having his true feelings revealed. Their friends were very happy for her but Tikali seemed a little jealous. She hoped that no one would notice but Mesu did, evident by him tugging her arm. "Mommy, you okay?"

Tikali looked down at him and smiled softly while stroking her son's head. "Yes. Yes, I'm okay."

Mesu was a little suspicious but accepted Tikali's answer. Deep down, she truly was happy for Tima, especially since she herself had Mesu, her loveable wild child. But there was something that had been bothering her for a while and it was Seth. The thought of it made her peek at Seth, who noticed and gave her a small smile. She smiled back but she knew that, for a while, Seth was not as passionate as before. She was understanding because he was busy, especially with being the High Priest and helping her with Mesu, and he was still romantic to her. But she wanted him to be passionate as well, especially since she knew that he did not have a mistress since he ignored every woman who looked at him; the only exceptions were Isis, Kiko, and Tima because he worked with and for them. Determining to get Seth to talk about it tonight, Tiki saw that Mesu looked a little confused. Tima noticed as well and asked, "What's on your mind, little one?"

Mesu looked up at Tikali, wondering if he should ask. Once he got the nod, he took a step forward. "Where's the baby?"

Still confused himself, Heba pointed to Tima's stomach. "Daddy says the baby is growing in there."

Mesu had a really confused look on his face, a look that Heba shared. Giggling at how cute the boys were, Tikali hugged Mesu from behind. "When you are older, you will understand."

Mesu and Heba pouted at that answer, making everyone chuckle.

Four months later, Tima was resting on her side in the bedroom. While it was still in the middle of the day, her pregnancy was tiring her out; thankfully, she did not have much to do that day and Heba was at his magic lessons with Mahad so she knew that she could take her time. As she rested, she heard the door opening and, assuming it was Atem, asked, "Meeting done early?" There was no answer but she felt someone climb into bed, which made her smile as she now knew who it was. "Come to visit Mommy?"

Having been dropped off by Mahad, Heba giggled and put his head on Tima's shoulder. He then reached down and touched her five month pregnant stomach. "Mommy's tummy is big!"

Tima smiled and put her arm around her son. "Yes, the baby is in there."

Heba looked at the stomach and asked innocently, "Mommy…how will the baby come out?"

Tima blushed a little; while she was expecting Heba to ask, she did not expect it so soon. Taking a moment to think of a good answer, she sat up and hugged him close. "Well, Heba, when the baby is ready to come out, Mommy has to push the baby out." Seeing Heba about to ask more, Tima continued, "I will push the baby out because the baby needs to be outside to see Mommy, Daddy, and his or her brave, sweet, loveable big brother."

While that was not a full answer, Heba accepted it because he was very excited about meeting his little sibling. He was about to ask something else when Tima gasped and smiled. "You want to feel something good?"

Curious, Heba nodded so Tima took his little hand and put it on the center of her stomach. The child wanted to ask what they were doing when he felt a little kick, making the child freeze with wide eyes. Tima giggled with delight at Heba's reaction as Atem came into the room. Seeing them, he chuckled. "So this is where you two are."

Tima nodded as Heba turned around, showing the excitement in his eyes. "Daddy! Daddy! You won't believe what just happened!" As Atem took a few steps forward, Heba stood up on the bed and started to bounce with excitement. "The baby! The baby! I felt the baby!"

He would have continued to bounce but he missed his step and almost fell off the bed. Tima sat up to try and get him but Atem was close enough to catch their son. "Careful there, Heba.

Heba breathed a sigh of relief that he did not fall. As Atem sat next to Tima, Heba giggled. "I felt the baby!"

Atem smiled and touched Tima's stomach, feeling a kick a minute later. He smiled and kissed his wife, ignoring Heba's whines of disgust. "Our baby is very lively today."

Tima smiled, which widened when Heba proclaimed, "I can't wait for baby brother!"

Chuckling, Tima asked, "What if it's a girl?"

Heba shook his head. "Want brother!"

His parents chuckled; while it was adorable that he wanted a brother so badly, they knew that he would be loving to a sister as well. As Heba moved to get some space, Tima asked, "How did the meeting go?"

Atem nodded. "Very productive. We discussed where the new dam will be and, after lunch, I'm going to go out there to inspect the site."

Heba looked up. "Can I go too?"

Atem chuckled and nodded. "Sure. I could use some company since I told the Royal Court to take the rest of the day off." Seeing Tima's look on puzzlement, the Pharaoh chuckled. "Tikali and Kiko asked me to do so for Seth's sake and I agreed; he's been under a lot of stress lately and some relaxation could help." Hearing that, Tima agreed.

Unfortunately, Seth was not relaxing: he was in the scroll room, studying for tomorrow's meeting. After finishing with three scrolls, he started to put them away but paused after one. He was feeling frustrated; the problem was he was not frustrated with anyone in particular but just frustrated. He knew that it was mostly because he was busy with his duties as the High Priest and helping Tikali raise Mesu but there was something else. Just as Tikali noticed, he knew that he was not as passionate with her as he wanted to be. He wanted nothing more than to do more with her but his fear of her becoming pregnant kept him at bay. Sighing, he lowered his head as he remembered the day Tikali gave birth to Mesu and whispered, "I can't lose her…"

Taking a moment, he accidentally left his mind open, which led him to hear a few seconds later, _You've kept that to yourself for too long, Seth._ Seth looked up and saw Itami fly up to him, landing on his shoulder with a hard look. _Don't think I haven't notice; you've shut yourself up and that is why you're frustrated._ Seeing that Seth was about to tell her to go away, she stated, _No, we are talking about it now. After all, you're hurting yourself and hurting Tikali as well._

Seth looked up at Itami, not wanting to hear that because it confirmed something he did not want to hear: Tikali was hurt by him holding back. Still, this was a private matter so he decided to change the subject: "Was there something you wanted to discuss with me?"

Itami's eyes glistened, both knowing what he was doing and what he was about to see. _Only that Tikali wants to see you in the bedroom right now._

Seth liked the idea of Tikali wanting him in the bedroom but he hated to leave a job half done as he started to finish putting away the scrolls. "I will do that once I'm done-ow!"

Not wanting to hear that, Itami dug her talons into his shoulder. _No, she wants to see you now._

Seth glared at her but decided to not fight so he put the scrolls on the table, knowing that a servant would eventually find and put them away. Once that was done, he headed for his and Tikali's bedchambers. When he entered the room, he first saw that it was empty. Thinking that Tikali was hiding, he started to enter the room when he heard Tikali's voice coming from the balcony: "Close the door, please."

Seth looked at the door and could not help but ask, "What if Mesu comes?"

Tikali answered, "He's at his lessons. Besides, I told the servants to keep him occupied until I tell them otherwise."

Thinking that that was an interesting request, he started to close the door when Tikali came in from the balcony. Hearing her, he turned around and got a big surprise: Tikali was dressed like a belly dancer, consisting of a red top covered with gold designs and a red skirt with gold and red designs in front. Seeing her like that, all Seth could say was, "Wow…"

Tikali smiled a sultry smile as she walked over, swaying her hips. "You like it? Kiko and Itami helped me pick it out." Seeing that he finally realized that Itami had left his shoulder before he even got into the room, she giggled and took his hand. "Come…you need to relax."

Seth was still staring at the outfit his wife was wearing as she led him to a chair and gently sat him down. After she removed his hat and ran her fingers through his hair, she pulled back and started to perform a dance for him. Seth could not believe how graceful and beautiful she looked; what got his attention even more was that she appeared to be dancing outside of her comfort zone. Seeing the look in his eyes, Tikali smiled; she did feel odd that she was doing this dance but knew that this suggestion from Kiko would break down the walls of frustration that were between the two of them and ignite the flames of passion, something both of them desperately needed. After a few minutes, Tikali turned around to start a new part of the dance, which was the opening that Seth was looking for…

About an hour later, the couple was laying under their sheets, sweaty and exhausted but happy. Seth took a moment to catch his breath and then laid on his side to smile at Tikali, who was laying on her stomach. She looked up and smiled back at him. "Seth…that…was amazing…"

Continuing to smile, Seth reached over and started to rub her back. "You were amazing, my love…"

Tikali laid on her side to get comfortable and look at Seth. Taking his hand, she scooted closer to him and kissed his finger. "Seth…I am so glad that you were finally able to relax and not be afraid anymore."

Seth nodded. For the first time in a long time, he was able to be passionate and even open up about his fear, prompting her to say that there was no need to be afraid because of their promise to be together for all of eternity. "You were right: I shouldn't have been afraid in the first place…our promise is too strong."

Tikali nodded and kissed him deeply. Seth smiled in the kiss and continued to smile as he laid on his back and let her rest her head on his chest. As they spent time together in that position, Seth thought of something: he did noticed that Tikali seemed a little jealous of the fact that Tima was going to have a second child. With his fear out of his mind for good, he asked, "Do you want another child?"

Tikali thought for a while before looking up at him, deciding to be completely honest with him. "To be honest…yes, I would like another child…but I would like to leave that up to God." Seeing Seth's surprised look, she smiled and sat up to fully look at her. "While it is true that I do get jealous of the Queen from time to time, that does not mean that I am not grateful for all the things I already have. I have a wonderful husband…and an energetic wild child to love and call my own."

Seth smiled and held her close. The two of them rested for the rest of the afternoon until Atem and Heba came back. That was when everyone noticed how much better Seth appeared to be and were happy for him, believing that things would only get better from here on in and they could not be more right.


	20. Bless the Children

Chapter 20

Bless the Children

**Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.**

**There is a poll about this story on my page that I would appreciate if you readers would answer.**

**Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.**

Soon four months came and went and Tima was soon due to give birth any day. Everyone in the castle and town was anticipating the arrival of the new prince or princess; the one who was most excited was Heba, who was helping prepare the baby room and constantly asking if the baby would come that day. Mesu was excited himself but for another reason.

That day, Tikali was looking at herself in a reflective glass, glowing at what she was seeing: she was four months pregnant with her second child. With Itami watching from her perch, Tikali kept looking at herself from the side and the front while touching her stomach and giggling. Shaking her feathery head, Itami noted, _You are so interesting when you do that, Tikali._

Tikali giggled again and looked at the phoenix. "I can't help it: I'm four moons pregnant and, this time, it's really showing. I'm just so happy that we're having a second child."

Itami agreed and added with a mischievous glint in her eye, _Funny how things turn out…especially with how you found out._

Tikali chuckled a little, agreeing that God had a little sense of humor when it came to revealing this pregnancy. A few months ago, the palace was hit with a bad case of the flu but what was odd was that everyone got better and Tikali did not. After being sick for two weeks longer than anyone else, she went back to the medicine woman to figure out what was going on. The medicine woman made a joke that Tikali could be pregnant and they laughed at that until the medicine woman performed some tests and discovered that Tikali really was pregnant. Tikali started to smile when she remembered how happy Seth and Mesu were about the news and her smile widened when she felt strong hands reach around her and touch her stomach. Touching his hands, she looked up. "Hi."

Seth smiled and rubbed her stomach. "Hi. What are you up to?"

Tikali looked at the glass, seeing the two of them. "Just thinking…and looking."

Seth put his head on top of hers. "You look absolutely beautiful."

Tikali blushed a little. Looking around and seeing that only Itami was there with them, Seth got on his knees in front of her and laid his head on her stomach. Smiling, she touched his neck. "You are so romantic."

Seth looked up at her. "That's because I love you so much, my love."

Tikali's smile widened. "And I love you too, my darling."

Seth closed his eyes as he kept his head on her stomach, feeling the little movements of their baby. He was about to stand up and kiss her when they heard giggles at the door. The couple looked up just in time to see Mesu and Heba hide behind the door to not get caught. Shaking his head with amusement, Seth gestured towards the door to Itami. Catching on, Itami flew out the window, intending to sneak up on the kids. Crouching behind the door, Heba and Mesu thought that Mesu's parents did not notice them until Itami flew up behind them and screeched loudly, frightening the boys into crashing through the door and at Seth and Tikali's feet. Seeing the feet, the children slowly looked up with sheepish looks on their faces. Seth was about to scold them for spying when the kids got up and hid behind Tikali, who giggled. "Am I your hiding place now?"

Mesu hugged Tikali from behind. "Mommy safe place!"

Seth chuckled as Tikali turned around to hug the boys. From his angle, Mesu was able to feel the baby's movements and his eyes widened with wonder. Heba gave a quick hug before leaving to see his own mother. Once at the bedchambers, he quietly opened the door and peeked in, seeing Tima sleeping on her side. The child's eyes immediately zeroed in on Tima's stomach, which was very swollen and ready to pop out a baby any day now. Grinning, the child snuck up to the bed and climbed up to cuddle with Tima. He intended to nap with her but she wrapped her arms around him, her eyes still closed. Feeling his hair, she playfully wondered, "Mm…I wonder who this is. Hmm…it can't be Atem; this one has no extra bangs." Hearing Heba's giggles, Tima added with a smile, "And that cute giggle…there's only one person who this can be." She opened her eyes and kissed Heba's forehead. "Hi, sweetie."

Heba giggled and hugged her. "Hi. How's the baby?"

Tima sat up and let Heba rest his head on her stomach. "The little one is fine."

Heba's eyes widened with wonder. He did not feel any kicks but he did hear his little brother or sister's heartbeat. "I hear the baby, Mommy! I hear it!"

Tima smiled and started to stroke her son's hair. "The baby will be with us soon. Are you getting excited?"

Heba nodded and turned his head to tell Tima that he was impatient when he noticed Tima wincing. "Mommy? Are you okay?"

Tima nodded. She suspected that what she felt was a contraction but she had experienced false labor all week so she did not want to explain to Heba if this was false labor as well. "I'm all right, Heba…but I am hungry. What do you say to getting something to eat?"

A little hungry himself, Heba nodded.

Minutes later, they reached the kitchen, Heba leading the way. To their luck, the now-couple Jouno and Kiko were there with the Cetria fixing the captain of the guard a snack. Looking up, the blonds smiled and Kiko teased, "I know why you're both here."

Heba giggled. "The baby hungry!"

Tima smiled as Kiko started to make a bowl of nuts, knowing that was the food that Tima had been craving. While they waited, Jouno reached over and ruffled Heba's hair. Even though Heba was the prince and technically above him, Jouno liked the prince and saw him as the little brother he never had. "Hey, kid."

Heba giggled. He liked Jouno as much as the captain liked the prince, seeing the blond as the playful uncle. "Hi! What'cha doing, Uncle Jouno?"

Jouno held up an apple that had a bite in it. "Having a snack before I go to my duties as captain of the guards."

Curious about the duties, Heba tilted his head and asked, "Is that a hard duty?"

Taking another bite, Jouno thought about the answer before deciding to be truthful. "It is sometimes. But I get to help your father and make sure that everyone is protected."

Heba smiled at the idea of his older friend protecting his family. As Kiko gave Tima the bowl of nuts, Tarra flew in from the window and landed on Heba's shoulder, nuzzling him gently. _And how's my favorite prince?_

Heba giggled at the affection. He really liked Tarra and was always glad to get a nuzzle from her. He was about to answer when Tima winced, making Kiko a little worried. "My Queen?"

Tima tried to say that she was all right when she froze with wide eyes. Kiko was about to ask what was wrong when Heba said quite loudly, "Mommy just peed!"

Though whimpering from a contraction, Tima chuckled at her son's innocence; even Tarra gave a little chirping laugh since she knew what was about to happen as well. Putting two and two together, Jouno pulled Heba back a little so Kiko could help Tima keep standing. "Let's get you to the birthing room."

Heba started to get worried at Tima's look and whimpers of pain. "Mommy…?"

As Tarra nuzzled the child to try and calm him down, Tima smiled. "Go get Daddy…the baby is coming."

Hearing that, Heba broke away from Jouno and went to find Atem with Tarra. While he was scared by Tima's pain, he was very excited to meet his little sibling. At the throne room, he burst in, startling the Royal Court and concerning Atem: they knew that Heba would never interrupt a meeting unless it was an emergency. Standing up a little, Atem asked, "Heba? What is it?"

Heba just managed to stutter out, "Mommy…baby…coming…"

Hearing this, the Royal Court moved out of the way as Atem went to Heba and Tarra with wide eyes and took him to the birthing room. They arrived with perfect timing as Tima was about to enter the birthing room with help from Kiko. At that point, Tima was clearly in a lot of pain. Seeing her family, she smiled in pain. Seeing Heba looking at him with fear, Tima went over and hugged her son. "It's all right, Heba…I'll be fine."

Heba hugged her close, especially after she winced from a contraction. Atem looked at Tima and smiled; he was not afraid anymore because she survived giving birth to Heba. So, when Tima moaned at a contraction, Atem pulled Heba back and Tima went into the birthing room. Excitement replaced with fear, Heba started to cry so Atem went down and hugged his son. "Ssh…it's okay, Heba."

Heba looked up at Atem with tears in his eyes. "Mommy gonna be okay?"

Atem smiled and hugged his son again. "Yes she is, my son. Your mother is very strong."

Tarra added with a little humor, _After all, she gave birth to you._

Heba started to smile but it quickly faded when they started to hear Tima moan loudly in pain. Hearing that and see Heba's look, Atem took his son's hand. "Heba, would you like to join me in the meeting? You get to see how your father works."

Heba nodded a little so Atem started to take his son to the meeting room. But he paused when Tarra squeezed his shoulder. While he was going with Atem, Heba kept looking back at the birthing room so Atem stopped and got down to Heba's level. "Heba, listen to me: your mother will be just fine. She is a very strong woman and has survived through worse things than this. I guarantee you: everything is all right and you'll be a big brother before you know it."

Heba nodded and hugged Atem. While he was still scared, he would have to believe his father.

A few hours later, Tarra was praying to her god at the window and Atem was playing Senet with Heba. He was impressed that Heba was able to stay still and behave during the meeting. The Royal Court was surprised that Atem had allowed his son to be involved since the child was still young and they tried to say that maybe Heba would rather be playing with Mesu; however, Atem knew that Heba was scared about what Tima was going through so the Pharaoh put his foot down and said that Heba would stay by his side. Seeing that Atem meant business, the Royal Court consented. Winning the current game, Atem brought up, "I am very proud of you for behaving yourself in the meeting."

Heba pouted at losing and admitted with a whine, "The meeting was boring. Do I really have to do those when I become Pharaoh?"

Atem chuckled and nodded. "Yes. But it is for the good for the kingdom. To tell you the truth, I sometimes get bored in the meetings as well…but that thought keeps me going."

Tarra looked back at the two males with a twinkle in her eyes. _You should have seen your Father when he first became Pharaoh. I had to keep him awake a few times._

Heba giggled at Atem's glare to Tarra and started to set up another game when Tikali opened the door with Mesu by her side. "My Pharaoh…it's time."

Hearing that, Atem took Heba and Tarra back to the birthing room. At the sight of the door, Heba got really nervous, not wanting to hear her scream. Atem could understand the fear but knew that it was best that Heba be here. To their surprise, Tima was crying in pain but she was also singing in her native tongue, as if trying to distract herself from the pain. As the Royal Court (including Aknadin who had to keep up the accepting charade) and their friends came to the birthing room, Tikali heard the song and smiled. "She's singing…"

Seth looked at his wife and asked, "What song is that?"

Tikali touched her stomach and explained, "It's the prayer of birthing. In my faith, mothers sing it to their newborns to tell them that the hardship of labor is over and it is time to be born."

The Royal Court, sans Aknadin, smiled at the thought of that but Atem found something odd. "I don't recall Tima singing that song when she gave birth to Heba."

Tikali chuckled, knowing that she herself did not sing the song because she had no idea she was giving birth. "Well, I must admit…first time mothers always have trouble singing that song."

Atem smiled and looked at the door, hearing the singing interwoven with the screaming. Heba was still nervous so Atem took his hand to make him feel better. Minutes later, the song and screams stopped and were replaced by newborn cries, making everyone look up in anticipation. Heba wanted to rush to the doors but Atem held him back, knowing that the women inside had to make sure that everything was all right before letting anyone in. Two minutes later, the door opened and Heba flew in before Atem could stop him. Chuckling in amusement, Atem and Tarra went in and saw that Tima was in a night-dress and laying on the mattress with a bundle on her chest. She was out of breath and covered with sweat but she was happy, to Heba's relief. "Mommy! Are you okay?"

Tima nodded and reached up to stroke her son's hair with a wink. "Mommy is okay, my sweet. "

Heba smiled, feeling better. As Tima sat up with the bundle, Atem joined them and his eyes immediately zeroed in on the bundle. "So…?"

Tima pulled back the blanket a little to show the newborn. "Meet the new princess."

Atem, Tarra, and Heba looked down at the baby and their eyes shone. The newborn girl looked a lot like Tima, especially with the little patch of brown hair on her head. But there was something interesting about her hair: upon a closer look, her bangs were a little color, almost like a red. Atem smiled and kissed his wife's temple. "She's beautiful, Tima…a spitting image of you."

Tarra looked at Heba. _What do you think, big brother?_

Heba's eyes were wide with awe. His want for a little brother vanished the moment he saw the infant girl. "Sister…love baby sister!"

The newborn whined a little at the loud noise. Hearing that, Heba felt guilty and apologized. Knowing that Heba did not mean to upset his newborn sister, Atem rubbed his son's back. "It's all right, Heba. Just be careful from now on; babies don't like loud noises."

Tima nodded with a smile. Hearing her daughter continue to fuss, she reached down and kissed the newborn's forehead. "It's all right, Aziza."

Atem nodded and then looked at Tima in surprise. "That her name?"

Tima nodded and adjusted little Aziza in her arms. "Yes. I trust you know what it means."

Atem nodded: Aziza was a name in his native tongue and it meant precious. He smiled with another nod. "She's perfect. Can I hold her?"

Tima silently agreed and passed the newborn to her father. Aziza fussed at being moved but settled down in Atem's arms. Heba kept a close eye on her and asked, "Mommy, can I teach her to play games?"

Tima giggled and pulled Heba into her lap. "When she's a little older, Heba. For now, you must be very gentle with her; babies are very fragile."

Heba nodded, his eyes glued on her. "Me be gentle."

Knowing that Heba wanted a good look at his sister, Atem adjusted his sitting position and put Aziza in a position where Heba could really study her. Wanting a good look herself, Tarra went to Tima's shoulder and looked at the newborn. Heba smiled, still wrapping his head around how small she was. Just then, her eyes started to open, revealing blue eyes much like Tima's. Heba's eyes grew wider with awe. "Pretty…"

Atem smiled and looked at Tima. "Just as beautiful as her Mother."

Tima smiled. Not noticing Tarra yet, Aziza stared up at her big brother, almost surprised that there was another face besides her parents in the room. Heba stared back as Tima told the newborn, "This is your brother, Heba."

For another minute, Aziza stared at Heba before smiling. Seeing this, Heba smiled back. "Hi, Aziza."

Aziza continued to smile, her eyes already showing love for her big brother. Their parents were relieved that there was a connection between the two siblings. Remembering that everyone else wanted to meet the new member of the royal family, Atem told the midwife to let them in. She bowed in obedience and opened the door to let everyone in. Standing before the royal family, they waited for the first glimpse of the newborn; when Atem revealed her, they all smiled and bowed their heads to the new princess. Atem and Tima could tell that Aknadin's smile was fake but they decided to not say anything as long as Aknadin did not create complications. Kiko and Tikali cooed at how adorable the newborn was as Jouno looked at Heba. "How's it feel, kid?"

Too focused on the baby to hear his friend/uncle, Heba reached over and touched Aziza's hand, making her immediately grasp his finger. Heba giggled. "Sister…"

Being curious, Mesu took a step forward and looked at Aziza. Knowing that he would be a big brother very soon, he looked up at his parents and asked, "Will my brother or sister be as cute?"

Seth chuckled and nodded as Tikali answered, "Of course." Mesu smiled at the idea.

Five months later, Tikali was sitting in the garden, patching a big rip in one of Seth's priestly robes. Though it was high noon and hot, she decided to do her sewing in the gardens because it was a beautiful day and because she felt like she needed to be there for some reason. She continued to sew until she felt a little kick. Smiling, she paused her work and touched her swollen stomach with her eyes closed; she could hardly wait to meet her second child, especially since she was due to give birth any day now. As she thought on the upcoming birth, she heard a little rustling off to the side. Opening one eye to peek, she did not see anyone; however, she did feel someone lay their wild-haired head on her stomach. Giggling, she looked down and saw that it was indeed Mesu. "Hi, sweetie."

Mesu smiled and listened. "I can hear my brother. Hi, brother."

Tikali smiled and stroked Mesu's hair. For the last month, her family had predicted that she would have a boy because of how strong the kicks were. Taking a moment, they stayed still, not realizing that Heba was watching from the entrance with a small but sad smile on his face. He knew that his best friend was happy with the prospect of being a big brother; Heba himself was happy with being a big brother himself. Still, since Aziza was born, all the attention went to her either from their parents or from everyone else in the palace. Though a little jealous, Heba was a bright boy for his young age and he understood that babies needed a lot of care and attention, especially since his parents had told him throughout Tima's pregnancy that a lot of the attention would go to Aziza to make her alive and happy. He himself loved his little sister to the point where he spent his free time showing the little infant all his games and trying to make her smile and giggle. But, after all was said and done, he was still feeling jealous of the attention Aziza was getting and wanted some as well. Having inherited his mother's inner torturous voice, he was beginning to think no one loved him. As he looked over at his friend, he could see that Mesu was full of cheer; maybe the wild child would not go through this. Knowing deep down that there was no reason to feel this way, Heba started to head to his play room and, in doing so, started to pass his parents' bedchambers. Peeking in, he could not help but giggle: Aziza was laying on the bed and Tima was over her, smiling and giving her a little massage. Looking around, Aziza's eyes fell on Heba and immediately squealed with delight. Looking up, Tima smiled at Heba. "Hi, sweetie. Care to join me?" When Heba stayed quiet, she found it a little odd. "Heba? Are you okay, sweetie?"

Heba did not answer, his eyes locked on his little sister. Whining a little, Aziza started to reach out, as if wanting her big brother. Seeing that, Heba started to feel guilty. Feeling tears forming, he quickly ran away. Surprised, Tima wanted to go after him but she had to stay with Aziza, who started to cry from her brother running away. Continuing to run down the halls, Heba felt bad for thinking bad thoughts, especially the idea that no one loved him when it was very clear that the truth was the opposite. Passing someone, he did not stop until he reached his playroom and hid in the corner to cry. But he was not alone for long: a couple of minutes later, Atem came into the room, having been the one that Heba passed. Seeing his son in tears, he went up to him and hugged him. Equally worried, Tarra reached down and nuzzled the prince. _What's wrong?_

Amidst sniffles and hiccups, Heba said against Atem's chest, "Heba…bad…"

Not understanding, Atem focused on soothing his son first with back rubs in the hug. When Heba finally settled down, Atem wiped Heba's eyes with his cape. "All right, Heba. Tell what happened. Why do you think you're bad?"

Seizing the chance, Tarra asked, _Did you finally kick Aknadin?_

Heba did giggle before he could stop himself. Silently thanking Tarra, Atem looked at Heba, who explained, "I've been jealous…of Aziza…"

Atem was a little surprised at this admission. "Your sister? Why?" Heba hid his face again, still feeling guilty, so Atem hugged his son again. "Heba…you know you can tell me."

Sniffling, Heba said, "She gets all the attention…I was starting to think…no one loved me…"

Atem and Tarra finally understood what was going on: the child was feeling a little unwanted because Atem was busy with his duties as the Pharaoh and Tima was busy taking care of Aziza. Picking up his son, Atem started to take him to the main bedchambers. "I am sorry, Heba. I guess we have been too busy to notice."

Wiping his eyes, Heba shook his head. "I understand…Mommy and Daddy are busy…"

Atem looked at his son. "Still, we are sorry and will try better. You deserve as much attention as your sister."

Feeling like he was stealing some of the time that Aziza needed, Heba protested, "But she needs the attention."

Tarra interjected with, _So do you._

Heba hugged Atem close as the two males made it back to the main bedchambers, where Tima was holding a now calm Aziza. "Heba, are you all right?"

Heba looked down for a moment, unsure about telling the truth. Setting his son down, Atem rubbed his son's back to comfort him. Heba peeked up at Tima. "I sorry, Mommy…"

Tima tilted her head. "About what, sweetie?"

Heba lowered his head again. "Being jealous…"

Tima smiled gently at that: she understood what Heba was going through, knowing that her own older sister admitted that she felt the same way when Tima was born. Burying the thought of Yima, Tima went over to Heba. "Was that why you ran off?" Off Heba's nod, Tima smiled and winked at Atem before saying, "Well, I know what you can do to make up for it."

Heba looked up with curious eyes. Having an idea of what Tima wanted, Atem picked up Heba and set him on the bed before putting a pillow on his lap. Tima then put Aziza on the pillow. The infant immediately squealed at the sight of her brother, making Heba smile. "Hi, Aziza…"

Continuing to squeal happily, Aziza reached for him and Heba let her grip his finger. Heba felt his doubts wash away, especially about being unloved: he could clearly see that his little sister alone loved him. Tima smiled and stroked Heba's hair. "Don't you worry, Heba: we will give you as much attention as Aziza. Feeling better?"

Heba nodded, keeping his eyes on the baby. Chuckling, Atem kissed Tima's temple. "I should warn Seth about this for when Tikali gives birth."

Tima nodded. Tarra added with a joke, _Better do that soon: Tikali looks like she's ready to pop._ The royal couple chuckled at the truthful statement.

Back in the gardens, Tikali was alone again as Mesu had gone to get himself a snack. Moaning a little, she adjusted herself against the palm tree. "Maybe I've been outside for too long…"

She wanted to go inside, especially since her body was in discomfort, but she wanted to finish fixing Seth's priestly robes. But it soon became clear that she could not because of the increasing pain she was feeling. She wanted to get up and get some help but her legs refused to work. The truth of her pain was that she was in labor but she did not know because Mesu's birth was so unusual. Feeling stuck, she started to call out to anyone who could hear her. Thankfully, two servants were passing by and came to see what was wrong. After Tikali described the pain, one of the servants took off to find the midwives as the other tried to keep Tikali calm. "Milady, I believe you are in labor."

Tikali looked up at the servant and could only utter, "What?!"

Remembering Tikali's last mysterious pregnancy, the servant just shrugged and continued to try to keep Tikali calm. Tikali wanted to go to the birthing room but her legs remained locked up from the pain. By the time the midwives arrived, Tikali's water had broken and she was crying out in pain. The servant who got the midwives asked, "How are we going to transport her?"

The head midwife checked Tikali's body out and shook her head. "There's no time: the baby is coming now."

Again shocked, Tikali yelped, "What?!"

Having found a carrot in the kitchen, Mesu was heading back to the garden but he was sidetracked by finding Seth and Itami in the scroll room. Smiling with the carrot between his teeth, he got down on his hands and knees and started to crawl in. But he froze when he heard Seth say, "You need to work on your sneaking up abilities, Mesu."

Mesu giggled and stood up. Putting away a scroll, Itami's eyes sparkled. _Give him some credit, Seth: he's only five._

Seth smirked and looked up at his son. "Keeping your Mother company?"

Mesu nodded before swallowing a bite of carrot. "Yep! Keeping her and baby brother company."

That caught Seth's attention. "Did Tikali give birth?"

Mesu shook his head as a servant came in. Having heard Seth's question, the servant bowed his head and said, "Actually, my Lord Priest…she just did."

The two humans and the phoenix's six eyes grew extra wide before they flew out of the room to find Tikali. Sure enough, when they came upon the garden, Tikali was there with the midwives surrounding her. Worried, Mesu ran forward and tried to push the midwives away. Though he understood his son's behavior, Seth wanted him to still behave so he went forward and stopped Mesu before telling the midwives, "Move."

They bowed in obedience and moved away, revealing an exhausted Tikali holding a bundle. Recognizing the cloth as the priestly clothing Tikali was working on, Seth asked, "Is that my…?"

Tikali did not answer, too focused on the bundle, but one of the young midwives bowed her head. "Please forgive us, my Lord Priest. It happened so fast…we couldn't get a blanket in time."

While he was a little annoyed that his robes were being used, he was still understanding: they were just robes and the lives of the child and mother were more important. Itami pointed out privately, _Oh well. You can always get them cleaned or have new ones made._

Seth nodded. Unaware of Itami's closed-off comment, Tikali looked up and smiled tiredly. Mesu sniffled and wiped his teary eyes. "Mommy…are you okay?"

Tikali nodded and looked down at the bundle. "Yes…better than okay, in fact. Seth…Mesu…"

With that, she revealed a baby boy in the bundle. With blue eyes and brown hair, the newborn was almost a clone of Seth. Itami chirped with happiness and Mesu smiled brightly. "Baby brother!"

Tikali nodded. As the midwives left to give them space, Seth sat down next to Tikali and his heart melted at the sight of his new son. Itami looked down and wanted to nuzzle the newborn but knew that it was too soon after birth. Tikali looked at Seth and smiled. "He looks just like you."

Seth nodded and touched the baby's head. With Mesu continuing to smile, the Priest asked, "You like him?"

Mesu nodded. "Yes! I love him! Can I hold him?"

Tikali chuckled. "Maybe later. Babies are fragile, especially after being born."

Seth nodded and, looking around, made note, "We should probably go inside."

Itami nodded. _Absolutely. We don't want the little one to get too hot._

With Tikali still holding her newborn, Seth helped her stand up and led his family inside, Mesu bouncing around with excitement. Looking down at Mesu, Seth got an idea. "Do you want to name him?"

Everyone looked up at Seth in surprise. Thinking that Seth would want to name his son, Itami asked, _You sure?_

Seth nodded. Mesu was very excited but he had no idea what name to come up with so Tikali suggested, "How about from one of your favorite stories?"

With that, Mesu immediately thought of his favorite story from Tikali's faith and said, "Noa!"

Seth looked at the newborn and nodded with a smile. "Noa…it suits him perfectly."

Seeing that Mesu wanted to take a look, Tikali paused against the pillar and lowered down to show Mesu his new brother. The wild child smiled. "Hi, Noa. I hope you like your name."

Noah cooed gently. His eyes sparkling, Itami started to sing a little song to the newborn as the royal family came by. Trying to rock Aziza to sleep, Tima started to say hi to Tikali when everyone noticed the bundle and their eyes widened. Atem asked, "Is that…?"

Tikali nodded and stroked Noa's head. "Yes…I gave birth a few minutes ago in the gardens. This little one was eager to come out."

Tarra chirped with happiness as Heba joined Mesu's side and smiled down at Noa. "Cutie…"

Atem smiled and shook Seth's hand. "Congratulations, my friend."

Seth nodded. He and Atem knew that their families were finally complete with their wives and two children each and that the future would be nothing but bright days from here on out.


End file.
